Below Wonderland
by ArchaicLover
Summary: Kay Chapman is very nearly kidnapped by the mob, and then re-kidnapped by the good Doctor Jonathan Crane. He uses her for his evil experiments and she fights back with bitter sarcasm. Rated M for language and violence.
1. Spiders and Kidnapping

It had been a hard day. That girl, (_Little slut _she thought)had been all over Ty again today. Not that Kay and Ty were going out. In fact, it was questionable whether he knew she _existed. _Typical 'high school geeky girl loves popular football-playing boy' scenario.

_It's like something out of a frickin movie._ Kay thought.

Oh God how she hated her school right now. And top of Ty being swooned over by the head cheerleader Kay had gotten an eighty-five on her math test. She had dreaded coming home and having to show her mother - and rightfully so.

Despite being a drunkard, her mother was a perfectionist when it came to grades.

The otherwise slovenly woman demanded to see all Kay's grades she had received that day. Anything below a ninety percent, even a homework grade, meant a quick beating and no dinner. And anything below a ninety-five on a test meant a severe beating, no dinner, and the silent treatment for a few days. But that was had stopped caring whether her mother refused to speak with her.

Actually, she preferred it when her mother was in a drunken stupor so she could read in peace.

The presentation of the math test results had been a catastrophe. Praying that her mother was passed out Kay had crept into the apartment, shutting the door almost silently behind her.

Almost.

Within seconds the sluggard human that was technically her mother came out of the kitchen and demanded in her fat-affected frog voice to see Kay's daily grades. Kay had almost decided just to not show her the test.

The more she considered it the better idea it became. But that bum of a woman had decided to go through her binders herself. In a short time she came across the math test.

Her tirade was finally put to rest when a neighbor came to the door screeching something about the merits of being quiet. Hypocrite. Mother had turned her beady little pig eyes onto Kay and started her assault.

When it was finally over, Kay was on her side balled into a corner, blood dripping steadily from her nose and mouth. Her eye was swollen and her fist was clenched over what would soon be a collection of shoe print bruises.

The girls would laugh at her again tomorrow, of that she was certain.

"Now go to your room and study you worthless, good-for-nothing, ungrateful bitch." Mother had hissed. Kay had obeyed. She hated obeying. But she did all the same.

For a blessed eight hours she had been left in her room to "study." She had done all her homework at school. Now she could just read and think about what she would do if Ty asked her out. She mused that she might want to think about what she would do if she had _friends first._

After lying still for a few moments after this thought, Kay pulled herself off of her bed and went to stand in front of the mirror. What she saw was what she saw yesterday, what she saw everyday, except for some new bruises.

A five foot five wiry girl with untamable curls of deep brown framing her face stared back at Kay with hardened sepia-colored eyes. Almost no chest, Kay noted sourly. She didn't think she was ugly. There were people far more ulgy than her in her classes at school. No, the word for her was 'plain'.

Her dark, tattered clothes were plain, her ponytail that protruded from the back of her head everyday was plain, her thin body was plain. But there was no mistaking the muscle on her.

_I may be a scrawny wimp, but I'm strong thanks to dear old mom._ She thought bitterly with a bit of defiance thrown in for good measure. It was true; the muscles were due to her mother. 75 push-ups a day combined with all the ab workouts mother dearest could drudge up from the Internet kept her in decent shape. It was the lack of _meals_ that kept her thin though.

Inspecting her angular, dull appearance in the hazed mirror, Kay decided that she hated it. She hated the way she dressed and the way her hair practically lived in a ponytail. Angrily she yanked the hair tie out of her wavy masses and let them fall around her shoulders. After studying the effect for a second Kay decided that she rather liked it and spun on her heel to find a brush.

After brushing her hair, she swung open her closet door and inspected that too. Most of the closet consisted of dark, drab clothing that helped her disappear into the masses at school. But there were a few colorful, reasonably fashionable items that persisted on staying alive in the lackluster hole in the wall that was her closet.

She pulled these out. After a moment of deliberation, Kay nominated a pair of unused jeans that had been hiding in the back corner and a plain red t-shirt that looked like it would complement both her body and hair.

Just to throw in a bit of comfort into the new look, Kay added her trusty black converse. Maybe add in some makeup and she was all set. Wryly she mused whether people would ask her if she was new at school. She almost hoped so.

A few minutes later Kay was out of her sweat pants and baggy t-shirt and into the newly put-together out fit. Once again she yanked a brush through her hair in an attempt to make it straighter. And once again it didn't work.

_Oh well, can't have everything._ Kay thought. She stood in front of the foggy mirror, pleased with herself. Her hair tumbled around her shoulders and created more of an artistic look. And on further reflection, it really wasn't that puffy. It was more along the lines of pleasantly wavy. It was some time around here that she noticed it.

Kay immediately froze. A spider crept across the wall behind the mirror. She stayed perfectly still, and a small moan escaped her lips.

The horror that was the spider dropped to the floor and scuttled its way towards Kay. Fighting back tears she took a deep breath to calm herself. She took one step back at a time, slowly. Ever…so…slowly. Still the spider advanced. It was a silent war between them, the smaller animal being in the surprising role of aggressor.

Desperate to make small monstrosity vanish, Kay summoned up every once of courage in her body and took a step forward quickly, wanting to get the job done. And it was done soon enough.

Kay collapsed onto her bed without a further look to the squished spider on her floor. What a day.

_Sluts, beatings, and spiders!_ _Oh my!_ Kay thought and then immediately laughed shakily at the ridiculousness of it. _Hey, at least I'm safe except for the spiders_. For a few precious moments she was lethargic, not wanting to ever move from her bed.

But that didn't last, no peace in her life ever did.

The old lady started squawking from the living room, something about the door. Groaning, Kay rolled off her bed and scooted her way past the squished spider. In the living room, the hag was lying all of five feet away from the door on the couch.

"Hurry up bitch. Someone's at the door."

She raised an eyebrow, disgusted with her mother's extreme laziness, but, as always, obeyed. Kay yanked the door open.

A colossal man in a black leather jacket loomed at her from the doorframe. "Kay Chapman?" he snarled. "…Yes?"

Bad vibes rolled off this guy like water rolls off a rain jacket. Subconsciencously, Kay took a step back. The man took a step forward. And another.

The fat cow on the couch watched this happen like it was another one of her daytime soap operas. The moment Leather Jacket lifted started lifting his arm Kay spun around and started running. Where to wasn't important right now. Anywhere that was away from the giant chasing after her was fine, just so long as he wasn't anywhere near her.

The floor shook behind her as Kay made a mad dash for her room.

By the time she was parallel to her bed, Kay felt a paw land on the top of her head. He tore back on her hair, yanking her to him.

"OWWWCH. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!"

He growled in response, taking hold of her flailing arms, trying to stop her struggling.

"MAMA! MAMA I'M BEING KIDNAPPED! HELP!" Mother had appeared at the door, still watching with that look of fascination. _Her own daughter, being kidnapped. Now wasn't that a thrill!_

When she realized that her mother wasn't going to help her Kay stopped struggling and let the man yank her out of the window. The last thing she saw of her room was her mother turning back to go sit on the couch now that the entertainment was over.

That hurt _far_ more than the wrenching on her hair.

* * *

**Alright! First chapter has been fixed! Please review, it would be a great help. So much thanks to Vayluh Arwen! --Archaic**


	2. Twenty questions

Converse clad feet pounded the sidewalk in a desperate attempt at safety.

Before skidding around the corner, Kay risked a glance over her shoulder. The man in the leather jacket was closer than ever.

Turning back around, her mind thudded as it tried valiantly to come up with a plan. Eventually it gave up and let her body take control. Running completely on impulse, Kay ducked into the first alley she came to after rounding the next corner. Her calf cramped up at the sudden lack of exertion.

"Shit…." She muttered to herself as she stretched the cramp out. Mentally she cursed herself for not running more in P.E. Kay eased herself down around the side of a dumpster. Her heart pounded and she squeezed her eyes shut, willing the man to miss her, keep going. Unwieldy, boot clad feet stomped past and could be heard hastening down the street.

Relaxing for the first time after fifteen minutes of sprinting, Kay rested her head against the side of the dumpster.

After resting for a few minutes, Kay decided that Leather Jacket wasn't coming back any time soon. She crept up to the edge of the alley. A quick scan of her surroundings confirmed her hunch that Leather Jacket wasn't around. Once again she took off running.

Half and hour ago she had been trying clothes on in her room and thinking about school tomorrow and then poof! She was being kidnapped. Joy...

After being dragged down the fire escape with a hand tight around her mouth, Kay had stomped on Leather Jacket's toes and taken off running. The thin little man she recognized from the newspaper had ordered Leather Jacket to chase after her, even though he had work boots on.

She knew she knew the little guy's name; she just couldn't quite place him. _Whoever_ he was, now she was running around the streets of Gotham (which are not the safest even during the day) from a crazy mob guy to nowhere in particular.

Common sense stared to prevail once more over the mass of adrenaline in her system. Kay decided that calling the police sounded like a good idea right about now. She jogged up the steps to the nearest house and started banging on the door. Never mind that it was quarter to midnight at night and sensible, working people would be in bed. She was being chased by the mob for reasons unbeknownst to her.

Bending over with her hands on her knees Kay gasped for breath. A few seconds later the door was cracked half way open and a disheveled man who looked like he hadn't slept in weeks asked tersely, "What?"

Straightening up Kay heaved: "I'm … being chased… by some crazy mob guy… I don't know… why. May I use your… phone... to call the police?"

The man stared at her with piercing blue eyes for a moment. Kay wondered for a split second if she should go to another house before he blinked and smiled tightly.

"Of course you can. Step right in." He opened the door wider to allow Kay admission to the house.

Turning around, Kay said, "Thank you so _bleeggch_!" as she was met with a face-full of white gas and sense of impending doom.

Looking down at her feet she saw hundreds and hundreds of spiders. They started up her legs and falling from above. Immobilized in horror, Kay looked from the spiders to the man with the blue eyes and whimpered, "Help me. They're everywhere."

She saw him give a small, indifferent nod before passing out from fear and exhaustion.

* * *

A sharp stinging sensation drove Kay's mind back into consciousness. As she drifted back into harsh reality she realized that the stinging was in her cheek, and the cause was a hand. Muttering she said, "Stop. Mmnstop id. Tha' hurts. Stop."

The blurred figure the offending hand belonged to stood up and walked out of Kay's line of vision. As her vision cleared and sharpened the figure walked back in front of her, carrying a chair. Lifting her head, Kay could see that the blurred person was the man who had answered the door.

"'Sup asshole?" Kay slurred from her still exhausted state.

"How do you feel?" the man's voice was cold, scientific.

"Like shit." Kay gave him the best glare she could muster.

He raised an eyebrow, but seemed unperturbed. "Ah. Lucid I see... Tell me, are you still hallucinating?"

Kay blinked the sleep away from her eyes before answering. "Hallucinating? No. Are _you_?" She pretended to be concerned.

A small sigh escaped the man's lips. Distantly, almost as if he were just thinking aloud he said,

"I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Doctor Jonathan Crane."

Maybe the gas Crane had used on her still had her drugged, or maybe she was just pissed off at being kidnapped twice in one night, but Kay had a sudden resolve to do everything she could to annoy this bastard until something happened.

She didn't know, nor did she care, what would happen, so long as something did. "Hi. I'm Kay Chapman. So Doctor Crane, do you usually kidnap people who ask to use your phone? Do you keep them in your basement until they starve? Hmmm? What's your M.O.?"

Crane just looked at her, keeping complete composure for this. Kay lifted her eyebrow in confusion. It definitely would have worked on her mother, or any of her teachers. So she kept at it: "I know! We could play twenty questions! I'll go first. Let's see… are you a mineral? Vegetable? Psychopath?"

Calmly, Crane lifted his arm and released the toxin from a canister strapped to his wrist, scooting his chair back. Coughing, Kay tried to lift her hands to her face and discovered that they were tied to the chair. Lovely. She felt fear tighten in her chest as she felt the familiar tickle of the spiders' legs, but she could also feel determination. So she did something Crane had never seen his victims do before.

She closed her eyes and pretended that this wasn't happening.

She pretended that she didn't feel the spiders that were swarming at her feet, crawling up her body and down her shirt. The spidery feeling enveloped her body and left her shivering uncontrollably. Still she would not open her eyes and see something much more horrible than the feeling.

Frustrated at the lack of terror, Crane leaned close to her and growled, "Open your eyes."

Stubbornly Kay growled back, "Not a chance in hell asshole." Soon after this another gas was sprayed at her. Slowly the tension left her body and the spider sensations faded away.

"Open. Your. Eyes." Crane's voice had the sound of ice and the feel of an inferno. Kay supposed that this was the reaction she had been looking for. It was dangerous, but it felt good.

"Why should I? So far having my eyes open has been a spectacularly bad idea. Why would that change now?"

In response a hand slammed into her jaw, nearly tipping her chair over.

_Maybe I went a bit to far that time_. Kay thought.

Grudgingly, she opened her eyes and slowly looked up at Crane. He was standing and clenching his fists. An odd sneer was splayed gruesomely across his features, contorting his previous calmness. Shaking, an internal battle danced across his eyes.

All of a sudden all expression left his face and it was as if nothing had happened. Crane once again looked like the heartless bastard he had been so far. Turning his detached blue eyes towards Kay he asked, methodical once again, "How old are you?"

"Under-aged. So it doesn't matter if I give my consent, it's still statutory rape." Even as she said this Kay knew that it was a stupid thing to say and that she was probably going to get herself killed.

_Well, to late now. At least it's more interesting that home._ Kay thought bitterly.

_May as well go with it._

* * *

So how'd you like it? Was Crane's introduction good enough? Please review! Love to all. -Archaic


	3. Rerekidnapping

Crane could see the malice behind the girl's eyes as she said matter-of-factly, "Under-aged. So it doesn't matter if I give my consent, it's still statutory rape."

Hmm. Interesting. Well, it didn't matter to him how old she was really. He was just trying to be polite before he experimented on her. So he chose to ignore the malicious jibe in favor of his research.

"While you were hallucinating, what did you see?" He queried.

She looked at him for a second, and then shook her head. "I think I have an answer to our 20 questions game. Wanna hear it?" A smile flittered across her lips. She knew exactly what she was doing, how suicidal it was.

How strange. But... He could work with this. "Answer my question. What did you hallucinate?"

"No. And my answer, dear Doctor, is psychopath. I ruled out mineral and vegetable pretty fast, and that just left psychopath."

Here her expression changed. What was once suicidal amusement now was bitter anger. There wasn't much fear but that was fine. Crane was currently studying the effects of anger on the toxin.

"So what are you going to do with me Crane? Gas me until my mind melts? Conduct insane, immoral experiments on me? Force me to feed you chocolate while you dance ballet to Bohemian Rhapsody?" She used sarcasm and ridicule to cover her fear and anger. It seemed to be a trigger to protect herself when she felt threatened.

Crane recognized the response; he had a form of it himself. This girl was interesting. Lots of anger to work with. And _real_ anger, too - not anger caused by hormones. He would break this girl, and he would enjoy doing it.

Crane was silent again. She couldn't tell if he had found her comment amusing or if he was just beyond angry with her. He continued to stare at her, if stare was the right word. His look was more of a study except that his eyes weren't moving from hers. Weird.

Kay then realized the hypocrisy of what she was saying, seeing she was studying him to, trying to gauge a reaction. Crane took off his glasses, almost wearily. His next words surprised Kay. "Would you like to see my mask?" He reached for a drawer in the desk beside him.

"Would you like to untie me? Then maybe we can play dress up."

This surprised Crane. None of his victims were ever this cheeky. Especially not after seeing what his toxin could do. This one would be fun to break. If only she would say what she had hallucinated.

Reluctantly, he put his glasses back on. It would be better for his plans for her if he were polite now.

But all the same he had really looked forward to showing her his mask. Crane ran his hands through his already rumpled hair; a bad habit that he should break but never had time too. Crouching down behind the girl he went to work on the knots. As he stood up he noticed her hands close on the back of the chair.

A second later the chair crashed into his chest and he fell, yelping.

Kay took off running for the third time that night. Her reasoning was that Crane didn't know where she lived, so home would be the best place to be.

Then she remembered that the mob people were probably on the look-out for her there. That left her wondering how the hell she got into this shitty situation.

_Fucking Gotham. How the hell did it get this dangerous? I mean, it practically **breeds crazies**._ Kay thought as she ran.

Footsteps echoed behind her. She looked over her should expecting to see Crane chasing after her. What she saw surprised and horrified her.

"Oh shiiiiiit." Kay muttered. She hadn't counted on Crane having cronies.

These guys were smaller and faster than Leather Jacket. They caught up to Kay as she attempted to climb a fire escape. Screaming, biting, and kicking Kay wrestled against their hold.

"Shut up." The man Kay had already started thinking of as Goon #1 ordered in her ear.

Kay just yelled louder. "Come on, get'er up." Goon #1 said to Goon #2. The two men pulled her up and slammed her against the brick behind them. "Now seriously, shut up." #1 growled in Kay's ear again.

No change in volume from Kay. A slap across the face was silenced her momentarily. But instead of staying that way a furious glint came into her eyes. Now instead of just screaming she added words too. "HELP! I'M BEING KIDNAPPED BY A PSYCHOPATH AND HIS TWO MINIONS! HEEELP! SOMEONE! HELP!" T

his time a punch in the gut combined with a slap to the temple was enough to shut her up. Just when he thought she'd given up and would come quietly Kay refused to use her legs. The two goons dragged her the block back to Crane's place.

"At least now the bitch is silent." Goon # 2 mused.

* * *

Please review! Much to love to all. And sorry this chapter was on the shorter side. -Archaic


	4. Scarecrow

At Crane's door Goon #1 decided to use Kay's head a knocker. After a few slams he realized that the door was open and that Kay was very nearly unconscious, and so hastily stopped. The boss wouldn't like it if she were unconscious.

He opened the door and shoved Kay inside. Tripping over her own feet, she fell and slid to slam against the bottom step of the staircase. Groaning, Kay pulled herself into a sitting position. Looking up through swollen eyes she saw Crane walking calmly down the stairs. Or at least that's what she thought before she saw his eyes.

His calmness was only a façade. In those blue eyes a tempest brewed. The blue had become stronger and deeper, like it had been heated up. The heat of his gaze hit her like icicles. She had never seen someone this angry in her whole life. Even her mother hadn't been this angry. It frightened her, but not enough to keep her from being pissed that she had now been re-rekidnapped.

Her response to his icy hot anger? "'Sup asshole. Nice to see you again."

Crane stopped. This girl was suicidal or actually had no common sense. Even as she lay half conscious beneath his wrath she insisted on being rude. How…_ fascinating_. That was not typical behavior.

It meant that something traumatic had happened to her. Crane was excellent at exploiting weaknesses born from trauma. Both Crane and Scarecrow were delighted. But something also had Scarecrow fuming.

_Let me out Crane. I'll teach her how to be cheeky. That little bitch. _

Crane shook his head immediately. _No. I want her untouched for my experiments._

_But she's laughing at you Jonny. Don't you see her? **Mocking** you, mocking your **weakness**. She knows you wont hurt her. Not like __**I**__ will. I'm not weak Jonny, I'll show her. Lemme out. One time Jonny, just to teach her a lesson. One time._

"No!" Crane said more forcefully in his mind. It came out as a whisper to the outside world. "No, she's not laughing. She is gauging my reaction to her jibes. She wants to know how far she can push me." Indeed, Crane had seen Kay narrow her eyes as she studied his face.

This was a sign of controlled manipulation. She knew what she was doing. Crane struggled to keep control of his body. Scarecrow was still angry, despite Crane's explanation.

Kay watched as he carefully kept control of his expression. Even in the midst of his clear internal battle his face remained impassive. Only his eyes changed.

His eyes fascinated her. Not because of their clear blue that would have made many a girl melt if Crane was not so _anti-social_, shall we say, but because of the way they changed color. They reflected his mood in many strange ways.

Anger seemed to be red-hot ice. When he was being scientific they were a basic clear blue, only the color was sharpened to a point. Snarky was a dark blue. Only when he was having these struggles within the confines of his own mind did his eyes flash like this.

Kay wondered who he was arguing with.

Finally, Crane banished Scarecrow to that dark corner of his mind that was the breeding ground for all things evil in the human psyche. He resumed his decent of the stairs. Not anger, mostly anyway, but that could give way to anger at any moment.

Curiosity that meant no good for Kay.

Waving a hand he ordered coolly, "Pick her up."

The two goons snapped to it and lifted her roughly by her upper arms. Once again she declined helping them by using her legs. In fact, she leaned down on them and made herself heavier than she actually was.

Crane stepped off the last step and onto the spot Kay's head had been moments before. "Well Ms. Chapman. How far did you get?" This was a cruel question, and deliberately so. He knew that she hadn't made it far because she was weak from the night's events.

He could tell it hurt her that he knew her weaknesses. Maybe now she would begin her spiral into turmoil. But again he had underestimated her and her suicidal impulses.

Kay planted her feet firmly on the floor and stood up as tall as she could. (The goons sighed in relief - she had really been leaning.) "I made it further than _you _would've." She glowered straight into his eyes, showing no sign of fear of consequence.

_She's mocking you again. She thinks your weak, she just said so. Just like the boys said. Just like everyone said. I can show her Jonny. I can show her you're not weak._

A small sigh slipped through Crane's slowly sneering lips as Scarecrow slid into place, cackling.

"You thought you could run away. You really did, _didn't_ you. But do you know who I am? What power I wield? I. _Control_. You." He said, smirking, leaning down so his face almost touched Kay's. The girl stayed perfectly still, perfectly blank, so he stepped it up a notch: "You know, I missed you while you were gone. I was worried I wouldn't have a _play mate_ anymore."

Utterly sarcastic, Kay looked at him with an over-dramaticised expression of joy and exclaimed, "Oh Jonathan! You _do_ care! And seriously dude, why the fuck are you so close to my face."

Scarecrow chuckled. "What's my name?" he queried. "Ummm… Jonathan Crane? Or at least that's what you told me." Again, the low chuckle. It was sinister to say the very least. "No no, the doctor isn't in right now. Now. Who am I. I think you know. Deep down inside, you have an idea."

Scarecrow relished her unease. While Kay paused in her confusion he turned on his heel and stalked into the other room. Clips of the past three hours played at warp speed through Kay's head as she tried to put the picture together. Slowly they built up a larger picture.

This picture puzzle in her head included an asylum and an escapee. The toxin and the name combined in her exhaustion-addled brain. Realization clicked into place.

"Holy mother of God."

A sense of impending doom that had nothing to do with a toxin settled onto her chest like a bowling ball hitting her. The masked man rounded the corner.

"Scarecrow." She breathed.

He smiled. "You've been a bad girl, Kay." Scarecrow sneered with his voice. "Trying to run away like that, very bad decision. But you know what?" Kay looked down to the floor as he moved from the doorway. "I forgive you. Even though you were so rude." He pulled her head up by her chin, gruffly. Timidly she lifted her eyes to his gruesome visage. "But I, I will not be rude. I haven't given you a tour of my home yet. It would be rude not you show around where you'll be _staying_. Let's start with the basement."

Scarecrow placed a hand on the small of Kay's back and pushed, prompting her towards a door to their right.

* * *

When Kay was in ninth grade her grade had taken a field trip to Arkham Asylum. It was part of the school program designed to dissuade kids from a life of crime. It was back when Crane had still be head of the asylum.

Kay remembered that he hadn't had time to meet them. Now it occurred to her that he had probably been busy torturing some poor crazy.

She and her class had walked down the halls filled with drooling crazies who screamed at any noise and babbled about how the nightmare creatures were eating them. The whole building had been white. The white enveloped all and shone until it was hard to see and it seemed as if all other colors had been dulled in it's presence.

The world inside Arkham was black and white. The world of the crazies had no color. She had returned home petrified that she would one day occupy one of the padded cells. Petrified that the white would take all her color and make her crazier than before.

As Scarecrow pushed her into the basement memories of drool and unearthly screams haunted Kay. Her fear put her in a frozen stupor that he relished thoroughly.

He fed on fear.

"This is Jonathan's lab. He makes his favorite toy here. I believe he introduced you to it. Right?"

Kay just stared at the floor. This must have pissed Scarecrow off because he grabbed her wrist and squeezed. "Don't be rude Kay. It's polite to answer your host."

"Yes. He did." Kay mumbled softly.

"Good. Alright, enough of this basement. On with the tour!" Without releasing Kay's wrist Scarecrow lurched towards the stairs and started up them.

A slow desperation was growing in Kay. The need to be away from the contagious lunacy of this madman was overbearing. A certainty that, if she remained here, she would end up without color was all that existed in her thoughts. Every flash of white reminded her.

Her stupor gone, Kay's brain was on full alert. Eyes darting everywhere Kay attempted to memorize the layout of the house.

"This is the kitchen. I don't use it much, neither does Jonny." He glanced around before saying offhandedly, "I'm not sure we actually have any food… hmm. Kealy. Get us some food so we don't starve." Goon #1 responded with a timid 'yes sir'. Kay turned to look at him. He shivered and licked his lips. His face seemed to white…_too_ white.

"So that's downstairs, sweetheart. Let's go see the upstairs, huh? That's where your room is anyway. Did you bring any bags? No? Good. They're a hassel. Anyway. Let's continue."

His gripped tightened again on Kay's wrist. It occurred to Kay if she went upstairs it would be much harder to get out of this place. And, also... he had just called her _'sweetheart'. _

"Um… no... That's okay. Really." Kay resisted against his not-so-gentle tug, realizing that she was babbling but unable to stop herself, "See, I've already got a room. It's just a few blocks away, really easy to get too… No? Uh. Ok. Never mind...."

Scarecrow just continued up the stair as if she wasn't talking. The only sign that he had heard was his fingernails were now drawing blood and his ascent of the stairs had become much less civil.

At the top of the stairs he turned to the right. A door about three feet down stood ajar. Scarecrow pushed it open to expose a Spartan room that contained a mattress, a mirror, and a door that might or might not lead to a bathroom.

"How…" Kay struggled to say something that wouldn't be considered rude by the psychopath. "erm… Monastic."

Even as she said this she winced, her body preparing herself for pain.

To her surprise Scarecrow chuckled. "Sleep tight Kay." He purred, his voice bringing up a slight shiver in her as she stomach did the same clench it did at him calling her 'sweetheart', "If you have any nightmares I'm right down the hall. But that won't matter because your door will be locked from the outside. Nighty-night!"

Already turning away he raised his wrist and released the toxin from his wrist. Kay's screams could be heard through out the house.

It was music to his ears.

* * *

As always, please review! Got any idea for what the good doctor should do to Kay? Tell me. It would be quite a help. Much love to all! --Archaiclover


	5. Extensive Boredom

Everything about Kay was stiff when she woke up.

Her body ached as she slowly unfolded from the fetal position. Her face was plastered with snot and tears from sobbing last night. Her hair was covered in dirt, as were her clothes. It was disgusting. Groaning, Kay sat up.

For a moment she just stared ahead. The she dropped her head to her knees and bawled some more.

After a while she got a hold of herself and wiped the tears and as much snot as she could off her face. Deliberately, Kay stood up and wiped her hands down her clothes in a vain effort to straighten them. Straightening her shoulders she decided she felt much better and less dirty. Looking around her room with fresh eyes and a newly energized brain piqued her curiosity.

In a few steps she was over to the mystery door. It revealed a cracked toilet and sink. The floors were brown and broken and the mirror almost to clouded and cracked to see anything. But hey, at least the water worked.

Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, Kay turned the faucet and splashed some water onto her face. It smelled bad and definitely wasn't filter properly but the effect it had on her Kay's mood was incredible. The water cleared away any extra cobwebs left in her brain. Quickly, Kay made a mental to do list.

To Do:

1. Get remaining nastiness off face

2. Attempt to brush teeth

3. Rinse hair

4. Check if door is locked

5. Escape

After completing steps one through three Kay had a wet shirt, wet hair, and a sense of purpose. Her plan was to either walk right out the front door, if Crane happened to be a vampire and sleep during the day, or ask Crane if she could leave now.

She really hoped the front door was open.

As it was, the door to Kay's room was locked, putting a damper on her escape plans. Defeated but not unhopeful, Kay sat back down on the bed. I_ wonder what Mother is doing back home?_ She thought.

_Probably watching a bad sitcom and forgetting she has a daughter._

The dismal thought occurred to her that one day Mother might waddle past Kay's room and think, "Huh? I wonder what's in there?" If she still had enough brain capacity left, of course. She might just grunt. Eventually she would think, "Oh yeah. That's right. Once upon a time I had a daughter. Weird." and continue waddling her way down the hall.

Some amount of time passed. Because her room had window and she had no watch, Kay had no idea what the time was. It was beyond disorienting. She lay there, flat on her bed, for what seemed to be hours before rolling herself off the bed.

As she came to rest on the floor she started playing the types of games people who are alone for extended periods of time play to keep themselves sane. By the time she sat up and went to lean on the wall she had had full conversations with Johnny Depp, Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ryan Gosling, Angelina Jolie, Brendon Urie, and Morgan Freeman.

Some time during the extensive boredom the man Crane had called Kealy came in nervously and placed a tray on the floor. Without saying a word her turned and left, locking the door behind him. Kay sat staring at him sullenly as she thought, _Well, I guess they know I'm still here. Nice to know someone remembers me…. God I'm so sarcastic._

As the door shut her face became considerably more animated. She scooted her way over to the food and examined what had been given to her. A glass of the unfiltered water sat next to a piece of bread and peanut butter. It wasn't exactly appealing but Kay was hungry and not picky at all.

_Living with my mother her trained me perfectly to being a kidnappee. Great._

She felt the peanut butter that was sticking to the roof of her mouth as she thought. These thoughts weren't _real_ thoughts. These thoughts wandered through her consciences like leaves blowing down an empty street. No one thought stuck.

Her mind rambled and was filled with the sticky, protein-filled taste of pb minus the j. _I really should get some more food for this place, if Crane insists on keeping me here. I should make a mental note of that._ The mental note floated away down the street.

Kay found herself on her back, zoning out towards the ceiling. She decided to count all the little dots on the ceiling because it sounded like something a bored person would do.

_Great. Now I'm **playing** the part instead of just **being** it. I'm crazy._

She dozed now and then. This whole being alone thing really wasn't working out for her. The lack of mental stimulation was now liable to drive her bat-shit crazy. For lack of something more entertaining to do Kay did her daily routine from home.

"Crunches, toe-touches, side crunches, two minute plank, push-ups. Three times through. Go." Kay muttered to herself. Laying her head down on her arm after completing this she thought,

_Oh dear God make the silence stop._

Softly, she began to sing.

"_Well I heard there was a secret chord,_

_That David played,_

_And it pleased the lord._

_Well you don't really care for music,_

_Do you._

_Well it goes like this,_

_The fourth,_

_The fifth,_

_The minor fall,_

_And the major lift._

_The baffled king composing,_

_Hallelujah."_

_

* * *

_

How'd you all like the chapter? I decided last minute to throw the song lyrics in there. How'd that work? Good? Fine? Absolutely horrible? Please review! Have a good day! Much love to all, as usual - Archaic


	6. Comfy Chairs and balloons

When the door slammed open Kay was dozing. Again.

A quick jab to some bruised ribs got her right up. A pair of blue eyes bored through Kay's not-quite-functioning brain. "Get up. You've got work to do."

Kay gave a low, weary groan. Well, _he_ hadn't gotten any nicer overnight. Or day. Kay still had no idea what time it was.

However weary she was thought, she still managed to stay sarcastic. "Work? Do I get paid?"

She doubled over as his shoe connected with her ribs once more."No, I guess not..." She mumbled.

"Come on. You're wasting my time." Crane said, grabbing her arm.

"_I'm _wasting _your_ time?" She repeated indignantly. "What about me? I have much more productive things to be doing besides being tortured by a psychopath! Owwwww. Jesus."

Her indignation at her previous comment was replaced with a throbbing pain in her lower back.

"Jesus Christ." She repeated, more softly. Crane continued dragging her down the stairs. They turned the corner and began down the basement steps.

"_Woooah_! No, lets not go down there I mean toxins are _really_ overrated and I _really_ don't like hallucinating do _you_? _I _don't let's go back upstairs it's much nicer up there, say, do you know what time it is? I have no idea because I've been locked in my room and it doesn't have a window and oooh _shit_..."

Crane had shoved her into a lovely antique chair complete with torn upholstery, scratched finishing, and straps to hold you down while you enjoyed it's comfort.

As fast as she had been pushed down Kay stood right back up and started her way towards the stairs. She took about a step and a half before being smacked and thrown back into the chair. Kay sat in the chair, breathing tight in her chest. Her wide, rolling eyes and bony limbs gave her the appearance of a scared colt.

Bending down, Crane strapped Kay's legs onto the chair. As he moved up to strap in her right hand Kay reached over her left saying, "Here let me." before being slapped away. Dejectedly, Kay sat with her head bowed.

Crane's usually nimble fingers fumbled with the buckle before going right back to work. Kay could hear his quick breathing. Without looking up she said, "A wee bit excited, are we Jonny-boy?"

Crane paused and lifted his striking blue eyes to look at Kay. Grinning a grin that belonged not to Scarecrow, but to himself he responded,

"Yes. Very. It's a stronger toxin than the one you had last night."

Very slowly Kay lifted her head, remember the effect of the earlier toxin.

_Oh...shit._

In an impassive voice that betrayed a tsunami of emotion she said, "Well. then you better strap down my left hand."

He did it all too quickly.

* * *

Turning around Crane lifted a little metal canister. His eyes remained as scientific as ever, with a hint of extreme pleasure and excitement.

"What, no Scarecrow to watch me squirm?" Kay shot at him, her fear a breeding ground for anger.

He remained indifferent, "No, I need to write down the results for this one. But believe me, he wants very much to be here."

It seemed as if his finger was twitching on the release. With honest curiosity Kay asked, "Can't he still see? Even if he's not in control right now?"

Crane stared at Kay. Hesitantly he answered, "…Yes. He can. And he is. Now shut up, I have work to do."

He pressed the release button.

Backing up quickly Crane grabbed a blue surgeon's mask. Kay, on the other hand, gagged and began to hyperventilate. Psycho man had been right, it was definitely a stronger toxin.

But goddamn if he was going to know that. Kay sat tight lipped and white faced. Repressed screams filled her head and throat and ears and hysterical tears ripped at her eyes. Outwardly she sat still to the point of trembling. Inside, her senses were an inferno.

She could smell them. They crawled at her with their spider-smell. It was dank, it was dirty, it was horrible.

She could hear them. Those of them that possessed pincers clack-clack-clacked them together. The awful scuttling noise that they made as they advanced joined the repressed screams in ripping up her eardrums. She could feel the dark, red fluid as it dripped out of her ears.

She could taste the air they stank up with their smell.

She could feel them as they burned their way across her body. They crawled into cracks and crevices and borrowed up into her clothing.

Worst of all, she could see them. Thousands of spiders, those infernal creatures of merciless dark, advanced on her as she sat bound to the chair. Helpless to defend herself against the monstrosities of every size, Kay tried to keep control.

A shredding feeling pulled its way through her lungs and through her throat. Before Kay could help herself it unleashed it's self as a scream. Thrashing against the bonds Kay scream and screamed and screamed. She screamed until she could not scream anymore. Even then she sent out streams of air.

Even then, she still screamed.

"Thank God these walls are soundproof." Crane noted to no one in particular.

Scarecrow laughed.

* * *

When Kay woke up she was still strapped to the chair. Crane sat directly in front of her on a stool with his legs crossed.

"How'd I do?" Kay croaked, her shaky voice dulling the effect of her sarcasm.

"You were unnecessarily loud and you near broke my chair. The toxin, on the other hand, works magnificently." Crane replied coldly.

Unbelieving, Kay stared at Crane before chuckling softly and dropping her head. "You bastard." She said amiably.

Her open face showed only the beginnings of anger. "Do you want me to be quieter next time? To_ accommodate_ your wishes?" Her eyebrows drew together and her voice became harsher: "Do you want me to come down here and fix your chair that you so kindly strapped me to?" she asked, "I've got time." She added frankly. "Oooh _boy_ do I have time. Thanks to _you_ of course. Because when I came to you for help when some guy from the mob sent to kidnap me was chasing me down the street, you did it _for_ him! Ha! YOU FRICKIN' DID IT _FOR_ HIM."

Kay strained against her restraints. The silence echoed. Then she shook her head. With enough acid in her voice to melt a hole in a ship she said quietly, "You took my freedom. You locked me in a room with nothing but my thoughts and now you've tortured me. Is this what you wanted? To get me angry? Well congratulations, Bucko, you did it. _Now_ what? Huh? You gonna lay me down on the operating table and slice me open now? See what my brain looks like? Huh?! WHAT NOW CRANE?! WHAT _NOW_?"

Suddenly, Kay relaxed completely. Letting her head fall again, she instructed, unflustered, "Unstrap me." Crane didn't move, he just peered at Kay over his glasses.

"Dr. Crane. I said unstrap me."

As calmly as you please he answered her acidity with: "No."

"No? Why not?"

He shrugged, "Because I don't want to."

Kay's laughter pealed out. "_Because_ _you don't want to?_ Because you _don't want to?_" She gasped. Tears slid out of her eyes.

"Oh my god. Oh my god no." Louder than she had screamed under the influence of the toxin, she let out a long shriek. "I HATE YOU CRANE I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I. HATE. YOU!"

Kay rocked back and forth in the chair, tears streaming down her face and dripping onto her jeans. The chair tilted from side to side, creaking. She screamed again. Crane marked down a note before lifting the canister again.

In a few seconds spiders surrounded Kay. "NO! NO NO NO NO NO! ARRRGGHH!" One last tilt brought the old chair crashing to the ground. It splintered and her arms came free.

Yanking at her legs, Kay wrenched her self off the ground and did her best to ignore the spiders. Crane was the only thing in her vision now. He sat there calmly, confidently. _Curiously._

Fury was in Kay's blood, she breathed rage.

The spiders melted away and went back to where they came from. Letting go a warlike shriek Kay launched her self at Crane. His surprised face met with her trained fist. Falling to the ground Kay knelt on top of him and smashed her fist into his face again.

"I HATE YOU CRANE." Was met with his yell to Kealy and Goon # 2, whose name was Schuster. After slamming his head into the ground once, she slid backwards and upwards off him.

"Get up." She snarled. "GET UP!" Years dealing with school bullies had prepared her for this moment. She knew every sneaky move he could make.

Crane pulled himself up as Scarecrow slid into place. No longer awkward and weak, Scarecrow danced with her in a circle, and he sighed, mockingly, "Kay. Little Kay. Got a little angry, did we?"

"Bastard. " She hissed again before hurling herself at him. Her head connected with his stomach and sent them flying again. But before she could jam her elbow into his already injured abdomen Scarecrow flipped her onto her back and pinned her arms to the ground.

Every second his knee pressed harder into Kay's stomach.

Leaning his face close to her's he whispered, "Kay. Mon cheri. Don't ever. _Ever_. Try something as rash as that again. Ok?"

"I'm not _your love_ motherfucker."

Scarecrow laughed as Kealy and Schuster dragged Kay out from under him."I see you know _French_... interesting."

Now pinned against a wall Kay breathed hard, but was otherwise still.

"Kay. Darling. Do you know what you've done?"

"What? Kicked your ass?" Kay asked ever so suicidally.

He walked over to her, casually, mockingly. "No." Scarecrow grinned. "You broke Jonny's toxin! Your not hallucinating any more, are you? The good doctor wants to know."

Squinting her eyes Kay said, "No. Not right now."

"Ah. I see. Well-" Scarecrow stopped. He seemed to be thinking. Kay guessed that he was talking to Crane.

_I wonder how that works?_ She thought.

He glanced back at her. "Kay. Jonathan wants to know what you were hallucinating. No you can't! I'm not done!" He looked cross.

"Crane wants out?" Kay guessed. "Shut up." The man said irritably. He looked back at her with cold eyes.

"…Crane?" Kay said hesitantly. She couldn't tell who it was now.

"I said shut up. And I asked you a question. What do you hallucinate?"

_Crane. Shit. He's not as much fun as Scarecr- what the hell am I **thinking?!** **Neither** of them are fun!_ "I'm not telling you."

Quick as lightening Crane's hand was around her neck pressing down. "What did you hallucinate? Don't be rude, answer me."

She shook her head, trying to get out of his tight grip, gasping for air. "No."

Crane lifted her head from the wall and slammed it back as she had done to his a few minutes ago."Tell me."

"No." Kay squeaked out. She doubled over in pain as his foot slammed into her stomach.

"_Tell me!_" He growled as he backhanded her across the face.

"Okay…okay." Kay gasped. "Okay, I'll tell you."

"Good. What is it?"

Taking a few deep breaths she whispered, she collected herself before she whispered her answer.

"Balloons."

* * *

That's right folks, choo choo train to angstville has made it's stop and is not rumbling it's way towards insanity. Please review! Any ideas for a diabolical plan on Crane's part would be lovely. I've got a wonderful evil idea, but that'll come later. So anything for right now would be great. Much love -Archiac


	7. A New Scar

"_Balloons._" Crane repeated, unbelieving.

Kay nodded softly from her kneeling position on the ground. As Crane looked down on her folded form Kay stared at the ground, worried that her eyes would give her lie away.

There was a long silence before he shook his head, "Kealy, Schuster. Bring her up to her room." He said, already turning away to his chemicals. The goons moved silently and lifted Kay.

The world spun as they pulled her up the stairs.

As soon as Kealy and Schuster had dropped her into her Kay stumbled over to the bare mattress and landed face down.

For several minutes she just lay there refusing to even twitch her toes. The feeling of pure exhaustion that you get after a large amount of adrenaline leaves your stomach drained every last drop of of Kay's willpower.

A small sigh shot past her lips as her muscles relaxed on the comfort of the stained mattress. After a while of refusing to move Kay's nose just got to itchy and she had to move to itch it. Holding her ribs, she sat up her protesting body up.

Gingerly she felt the bruise forming on her face. Crane certainly had not been gentle.

Not that she had ever expected him to be.

Her eternally abused ribs screamed their disapproval at her decision to stretch. _Who knows how long it'll be now?_ Kay thought.

The next thought was that, if this pattern continued, the pattern of long periods of torture by boredom broken by quick, painful bursts of hallucinations, Kay would go stark-raving mad and have to be sent to the dreaded Arkham Asylum _herself._

Memories of screams and madness snuck around Kay's mental blocks. The feeling of the asylum was too much like the feeling of the spiders.

In an attempt to banish the memories back to the dark cage in the corner of her mind Kay snapped her eyes open to be met by the whiteness of the wall. So… _white_. It ate all other colors and left nothing but white and gray.

Not even the dark could resist the black hole of the color white.

Shaking her head, Kay patched the feeling up to fatigue.

_I need to get out of here. I'm gonna go __**berserk**__ if this keeps up._

To keep the madness she could feel pounding on the gates of her mind from getting in, Kay decided to hone her singing ability. Several rounds of Hallelujah were sung, complete with every verse Kay could remember and a few she made up.

Panic! At The Disco, Les Miserables, and Breaking Benjamin could be heard in the upstairs hallway of Crane's makeshift home.

Every so often one of the goons would bang on her door and order her to "Shut the hell up!" Kay would go quiet for a moment and then start in with a new song. The twisted logic behind this was this: A- Singing was a good distraction from her current predicament. and B- She wanted to see how badly the singing would annoy the other people in the house.

_One of those suicidal impulses of mine, I guess._ Kay thought as she sang about how "the way you move aint fair ya know."

* * *

Every time the shaky little man opened to door to the basement Crane's concentration was broken.

His blue eyes narrowed, Crane turned slowly to glare coldly at the twitchy little man. Kealy seemed to shrink under Crane's malicious gaze.

"Wha-_t_. _Is_. It. Can't you see I'm working?" Crane shot at the little man, observing with pleasure the shudder of fear that shook his body.

"It's… it's the girl again Doctor. We can't get her to shut...up…." He trailed off under the pressure of Crane's gaze.

Carefully placing a beaker back onto the wooden table Crane turned fully around to face the twitchy man. "And just what could you _possibly_ want me to do about that?"

Crane sent a full gale of icy winded words at Kealy.

"I…I don't know. Maybe, well, maybe use the toxin on her again?" Wrong answer.

Crane's eyes glazed over and he took one step forward before the slight man hurriedly changed his answer:"Or we could deal with her our selves. That might work too."

Crane stopped and an emotionless smile spread across his thin lips. "That sounds like a wonderful idea Kealy. Now, leave me alone to work." The panic and agitation that made Kealy shift in turn made Crane ecstatic. After watching the petite man dash up the stairs Crane smirked and turned back to his work.

He fully expected not to be bothered again. That's why he found it so strange when Kealy shuffled hesitantly down the stairs an hour later with the same complaint.

Kay had figured that her singing would cause something to happen, and something happened indeed.

_Well, I musta really gotten on Kealy's nerves or something 'cause those aren't happy steps coming up from the basement._

Indeed, the great leader himself had slammed the basement door and was currently stomping his way up the stairs and towards Kay's room. Though her heart sped up, Kay kept her breathing and appearance normal.

When Crane slammed the door to her room open she was on her back with her legs extending up the wall. She paused her singing to say, "Ya know, if you break that you gotta buy me another one."

She arched her head back to get an upside-down view of his cold face. Ignoring his annoyed countenance Kay went back to singing.

"I used to be love drunk, but now I'm hung over. I'll love you forever, forever is over."

She flinched as his foot landed right next to her ear.

Gruffly, Crane pushed her legs over so she was forced to sit up. Placing his long hands on either side of her head he leaned close to her impassive face.

"Shu-_t_. Up." Without any emotion now Kay started to sing another song. Singing directly into Crane's face she intoned, "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee we sing."

Her head snapped back as Crane dragged her off the floor and out of her room. "Where we goin' Jonny? You know, this is getting to be a bit of a routine. Hows about you let me go and then things don't have to be so boring?"

_Yes, I guess I **do **have a death wish._ Kay decided silently.

Down to the basement, into the chair. "Ya know, I feel like we've done this before." Kay said, her eyes drifting around the concrete room.

Crane slammed his hands down on the two arms of the chair and spit frigidly at Kay, "No. We haven't. Not like this. "

"Hmmm? What's new? This is exactly what happened last time. You got a new toxin or something?"

Unafraid, Kay looked back into psycho man's electric eyes. Stonily, Crane lifted his lean frame and walked over to his worktable and reached for something.

His hand returned with a canister - _Oh, that's new_. Kay thought, irritated - and a scalpel.

_Oh, that really is new. _Kay thought, surprised and a bit worried. Placing them on his stool he turned back to the worktable.

Lifting his hands to his head he slipped the burlap over himself. The scratch against his skin felt good. He let himself slip backwards as Scarecrow came to the front.

When he turned around again, the stitched mouth of the mask leered at Kay and told her horrible things she didn't care to know.

"Sc-Scarecrow? Why are… What's going on? Why isn't Crane here? Doesn't he, ah, want to like, write shit down or something?"

Scarecrow's surprise visit had Kay breathing harder than she would have liked. A dark chuckle came from behind the mask.

"No. No, this isn't science today sweetheart. This is recreational! You see this?" He said, picking up the blade excitedly.

"This is one of my favorites. It cuts so cleanly, but if you twist it just the right way…." He left his threat suspended in midair. Picking up the canister, he walked towards Kay.

_Oh shit oh shit oh shit._ Kay's brain muttered to herself. Lifting her hand to her hair to brush it back, she realized that she wasn't strapped down. Scarecrow advanced methodically on Kay.

As she sprang up he lifted the toxin. Kay's backwards steps mirrored his own. Seeing no escape from the current situation, Kay lashed out. The coarse material of the mask scraped her hand, but her fist seemed to have no effect on him.

The scalpel whistled through the air and left a cut on her bare arm. Whimpering, Kay felt hard, ungiving concrete on her back. Laying her sweaty palms against it she slid down and tucked her head into her knees.

Not the best defense mechanism, but she didn't really feel like fighting against a crazy man with a knife.

Quietly, almost gently, Scarecrow knelt his tall frame before her. Softly he put a slender hand on her head. He smoothed down her brown curls before taking a handful and yanking her head out of it's hiding place.

Kay stuttered out, "Ya know, Scarecrow, you and Crane do that a lot. I mean, pull my head back like that." She swallowed dryly, her throat bobbing.

"Do we?" Scarecrow asked as he yanked her head to the side so her left jaw line was pointed up. Kay clenched her jaw and her eyes rolled in her head to look at him. Her breathing had become deliciously audible as he raised the scalpel, Scarecrow noted.

"Wha-what are you doing?" Kay breathed. Tilting his head slightly the masked man ran a slight finger down her jaw line before answering.

"Fear is a beautiful thing. It can really… change a person. I can't get enough of it. The way a frightened person is so very skittish, the way their eyes get so large, the way they, ah... _breath_."

Kay's breath hitched, and when she started breathing again it was slower and quieter. Scarecrow chuckled at her little attempt to hide her alarm at the appearance of the scalpel.

"So… what's gonna happen now? What are you going to do to me?" Her little voice attempting to be so brave and failing so miserably… it was almost _cute_.

But Scarecrow didn't think that things were cute. Affectionately he stroked two fingers down her stretched jaw line.

The only thing Kay could concentrate on was the glint of the scalpel just beyond her vision. Her trachea bounced as the knife came into view.

Despite the rational part of her brain screaming no, her breathing became faster again. The scalpel left her sight as it landed lightly on her jaw. "Please don't."She whimpered. "Please- owwww!"

She hissed as a bright pain ran down her jaw. "Do you remember," Scarecrow began, casually, as if they were friends having a simple chat, slowly tracing the path the scalper had taken with his fingers, "Why I love this blade so much?" He gave a small, mocking smile behind the mask, "And please answer, don't be rude. It can't hurt _that_ badly."

Tears stinging the open wound Kay replied, "Because... because if you twist it the right way…." She left it hanging as he had.

"Yes, that's right. Good girl, remembering what I said. Well, I'm not going to do that to you right now. As long as you're a good girl and do as I tell you, you'll be fine. Okay?"

"Okay." Kay choked out.

Damn. So easily broken. Scarecrow had been hoping for more of a fight than this...

The scalpel continued its path to right before Kay's chin began. "Ya know," Scarecrow said thoughtfully, "I don't think this is going to scar as nicely as I had hoped it would."

Twisting the scalpel to the side, he yanked it back up her jaw line. Kay's eyes clenched and she screamed shrilly.

Blood bubbled over her skin and flowed down her neck to her to make her red shirt darker. She gripped her knees until her knuckles turn white. Scarecrow laughed as he pulled her head further back to inspect the flaps of skin he had created.

"Yup, that'll scar. What do ya think, Sweetheart? Scar material?" As he released her head, Kay rolled over onto all fours, still sobbing wildly.

Her blood rolled forward down her chin and landed on the ground.

_There's… there's gonna be a scar on my face… forever? A giant, big-ass scar?_ Kay thought.

_Scars… scars make people stand out. People recognize people with big scars… like the Joker… shit._ Images of the people at school who had laughed at her anyways rolled through her brain. The need and the ability to disappear had been part of her everyday life, a necessity for avoiding ridicule. Now, with this scar….

"No." She gasped out. "No! No, I can't have a scar! I can't because they'll laugh! I can't have a scar! NO!" She practically screamed.

Seething, her tears of pain turned to tears of rage. Clumsily Kay got to her feet and stumbled away from a still laughing Scarecrow. Her screams seemed to delight him beyond measure, as he was not yet aware that they were screams of fury.

As she rested her head on a corner of the room, Scarecrow's laughter lessened, and he whispered,

"What?"

* * *

_As usual, PLEASE REVIEW! So, great fight scene coming up next chapter, and I even gotten it written already. Be proud. ^_^ So so so sorry it took so long to get this chapter up! Much love to all --Archaic_


	8. Good cop, Bad cop

Scarecrow lifted his head right as Kay whirled around.

Angrily she asked, "Scarecrow. Do you _know_ what you just did?" He just raised an eyebrow, and she shook her head bitterly. "Heh. I don't think you do. I don't think you do at _all_. I think - ha -! I think that you just think, I dunno, that you only put a line down my face. I can deal. Right?" Kay walked slowly towards Scarecrow, who was leaning nonchalantly against the table, watching her, almost amused. "But you didn't. You did much more than just put a _line_ down my _face_. You did more than just make me remember you _every frickin' day of my life_."

She gestured at her face, the movement sending a jolt of pain through both the wound she was referring to and the one on her arm. Blood still rolled down her neck. "I'm going to have a ropey, raised, disgustingly white, scar down my jaw!"

She waited for a reaction, any reaction. Scarecrow smiled and nodded, agreeing, _pleased._

So far Kay, hadn't been too angry, but at his response a cold rage filled her chest. Her voice became louder and more forceful: "Before you oh-so-kindly kidnapped me, I was already a freak. I tried my best to become invisible. I got good at it, oh yes I did. But _now_?" She shook her head, her words coming fast. "Now I have a huge scar. On. My. _Face_. Do you have any idea how hard it is to blend in with a HUGE FRICKIN' SCAR ON YOUR FACE?"

Scarecrow chuckled as she stood on tiptoe to yell into his face. Crane had said earlier that she would be angry. Seemed the good doctor understood her better than he did. Scarecrow had just been expecting fear.

He moved even closer to her, unsurprised now when she didn't back away. "Sweetheart, what makes you think you'll ever be leaving here alive? And don't be so angry with me, it won't be so bad. Joker's getting by just _fine_ with his scars. Why shouldn't _you_?" He stroked her hair for a moment before she swatted his hand away.

Trembling with anger, Kay hissed, "Don't you _ever_ compare me with that sick clown. I am a sane person. I do not kill for the _fun_ of it, nor do I _feed_ off other people's _fear_." Her f's were sharp, her voice cutting.

Running a finger down the side of Kay's jaw, the side without the cut, he responded, "Well. We should work on that, shouldn't we?"

In a flash Kay had grabbed his shirt and used his momentary lack of balance to throw him to the ground. She stamped on his stomach, but he caught her wrist and tanked, dragging her to the ground with him. They wrestled for the upper hand, attacking each other when ever and where ever they could. Reaching her hand up, Kay yanked Scarecrow's mask off. Behind it his face was alight with joy and his dark hair was tousled.

_I wonder how he sees without his glasses?_ The thought went through Kay's head with barely any notice as she slammed her wrist into the ground.

Struggling against Kay's fierce grip on his hair, Scarecrow reached up to the table and grabbed the scalpel. Swinging the silver blade down he slashed another line across Kay's arm and she drew in a hiss of breath as pain cut sharply through her. He swung again, grinning as Kay scrambled backwards to avoid it, but she didn't quite move fast enough, the blade catching her across the stomach.

Falling backwards onto the floor, Kay breathed hard, gripping her stomach, ignoring the stabbing pain as she tried to stop the bleeding. An "ooof" noise came from her lungs as Scarecrow pounced on her and straddled her waist.

Grabbing her wrists, he pinned her arms above her head. Still breathing hard and trying her best to ignore the pain, Kay glared up at the psychopath. His eyes wild and his hair sticking up all over, a complete mess.

Scarecrow laughed like an adult laughs at a child's antics, and shook his head. "Haha! Awww, nice try, sweetheart. Better luck next time."

"Get off me you sicko." Kay hissed. "I thought I told you two days ago that I'm underage."

There was that sarcasm defense Jonny had been thinking about.

He smirked. Leaning down, his nose almost touching the place where the good side of her jaw met her ear he whispered, "Do you really think that would stop me from doing anything I wanted?"

The sudden alarm on her face over his barely veiled threat made him laugh. Of course he wasn't going to rape her. Only dogs and madmen raped.

"Shhh... Calm down, sweetheart, I'm not going to hurt you." He crooned into her ear.

"Little late for that." She growled back, keeping her anger magnificently in the face of fear.

_Hmm… what games to play now... _Scarecrow thought, amused eyes wandering over her,_ What an interesting position we've found ourselves in, Jonny-boy! What to play, what to play..._ Scarecrow thought.

_She clearly isn't comfortable being touched. Or at least... not like **this**._

Raising his head and studying the furious girl beneath him, Scarecrow had to agree. _So should I just keep doing what I'm doing? See how long it takes for her to snap? See how far we can push her? Hmm?_

Jonny was silent for a second. Then, hesitantly, he asked, _Could... **I**? I just... I think I know how to play her better_

Scarecrow was surprised. But amused. Seemed the good doctor was taking on some of Scarecrow's more... _valued_ attributes. Reluctantly, he gave up power, teasing Jonny all the while: _You don't want her to think that you're, ya know, interested in her, so try and still look like my ravishing self, ok? __**Don't**__ brush your hair back._ He added as Crane lifted a hand to his head.

Beneath them, Kay was still struggling to get free.

"So," Crane began, thoughtfully, trying to keep his eye's wild, "Where do you think _you're_ going?"

Kay paused her struggles for a moment to look Crane in the eye and shake her head, disgustedly, "Anywhere that's not underneath _you_." She replied, scathingly.

He smiled, and then tightened his grip, sharply, pinning her down so any movement on either part would cause more pain than absolutely necessary. Kay stopped, wincing, and when she did not continue her struggles, Crane raised an eyebrow. "Mmm. I see. Well, as long as you're not actually going to go anywhere, let's talk." He grinned uncharacteristically.

_Playing Scarecrow is irritating. Maybe I should just let 'Crow come out and… No. This is **far** too much fun._

"About what? What a nice day it is outside?" Kay rolled her eyes.

_And there she goes again, reverting to sarcasm. _Crane noted _Her precious little safety net._

_Then lets tear it down._ Scarecrow replied, his voice filled with malicious delight.

"I dunno, anything on your mind?" He asked with fake curiosity.

Kay rolled her eyes again, "Well, I've been trapped here for two, maybe three days with no shower and shitty food. I've been tortured three times -and ya, I'm counting- and my sleep schedule has been thrown _way_ off. What the fuck d'you _think_ is on my mind?"

Crane pulled his head back a bit, Scarecrow's shot of pleasure at her anger running through him too, "Hmm. Fascinating. So, tell me... what do you think of your _new_ addition to the repertoire of your injuries?" He asked, a small smile playing around his lips, gesturing to her jaw with a nod of his head.

"Oh, it's just great. Thanks a lot for that. Now people can recognize what a freak I am from all the way across the room! Hurray!" Her false enthusiasm made Scarecrow chuckle. He enjoyed sarcasm, as did Crane; that's why the two men got along so well in one head.

Crane struggled to keep his usual cold, thoughtful expression off his face, and indulge in some of Scarecrow's wild passion. Widening his eyes a bit to ensure the crazy look he asked, "Again, what makes you think you're ever getting out of here? I keep the front door locked just in case you somehow make it out of your room. Not that you _will_, or course. Kealy paces in front of your door voluntarily." He smiled and leaned down to her, as if sharing a secret, "The man's a little... unstable."

Kay's eyes narrowed. "Think what you want, I'll get out of here eventually. With my sanity or not is a different story, but I'll get out. Believe me. I'm a strong willed person."

The determination in her voice amused both of Crane's personalities. He laughed gently onto her neck where he had lowered his head, and goosebumps spread along her skin.

He noticed, and chuckled. "Ah. You like that?" He breathed, moving a little closer until he was almost nuzzling the crook of her neck, tempting her.

"No, I've got goose bumps because it's creepy. Now please... _stop_." Her voice hoarse with emotion Crane could no longer place. Anger or fear, fear or anger... Who knows.

_Who **cares**? _Scarecrow growled fervently, _Either's as good as the other, right?_

Crane continued playing Scarecrow's part, trying to make the girl as uncomfortable as he could. After all, the more she hated Scarecrow, the happier she would be when _he_ was around. It was like good cop/ bad cop. Except... the cops happened to be the same person.

He breathed hotly down her neck and moved up the other blood covered side. She shivered; maybe in pain, he still couldn't really tell. Shifting slightly so he could whisper in her ear, Crane said, "Do you want to know why you're never getting outta here, sweetheart?" He glanced up at her worried face, smiling slightly.

"No, now pleaseget off me." Kay had given up any pretense of trying to escape his grasp and was now lying stock still on the floor, completely frozen.

"You can't leave because you... are... _m__ine._ You belong to me - to do with what I please. I have plans for you, sweetie. Big, fun plans. And you don't get to ruin my carefully thought-out plans because you want to run _away_... _do_ you?"

Her breathing hitched as he ran his nose lightly down her jaw injury. His own breathing rate increased when he saw the fear and pain in her brown eyes.

"It doesn't have to be bad, ya know. If you go along with my plans then little punishments like _this_, " He took one hand off her wrists to stroke right above the gash, shivering slightly as her breathing hitched again, "Don't need to happen. What do you say?"

There was a long pause. Then, to Crane's immense surprise, Kay lifted her head and tilted it ever so slightly. Their faces were so close that their noses almost brushed.

Crane tensed. It had been a long time since he had come this close to kissing anyone, not since college. The feel of her lips so close to his own was almost a new experience. His breathing became even faster and he wondered what she could possibly being doing until she whispered, her breath warm against his skin,

"Never."

The moment left him breathing fast with nervous adrenaline and anger. The now bored expression on her face told him all he needed to know.

_Dammit 'Crow she knew what we were doing! And she did it right back, and can't **believe** that **worked**._ Crane thought furiously to his counterpart.

In a second Scarecrow slid back into control and growled in Kay's face, "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?!_"_

Dryly Kay responded, "Why are you complaining? You seemed to like it."

Fury coursing through every bit of his body, Scarecrow placed his knee on Kay's stomach and pressed down hard. Gasping, Kay tried to sit up but was held down her wrists.

"Dammit you psycho get _off_ of me! I don't know what you think it'll do but lets just say I'm used to a lot bloody worse. Your not any better than a school-yard _bully_." Kay thanked the lord when the pressure let up.

As she watched his eyes fade from wild to winter, she felt a strange feeling of relief. Crane had never hurt her except for in his science experiments. A strange tiredness filled her body. The hard concrete hurt her head where it had been hit earlier. Crane's weight hurt her hips and her arms ached from being held above her. All she wanted to do was go home and sleep. She laid her head back and waited for whatever Crane decided to do next.

He let go of her wrists and stood up. Walking over to the table to pick up his glasses he said,

"I apologize for Scarecrow. You're right; he was acting like a school bully." The he turned back to her almost warningly, "You really shouldn't have provoked him like that though. Next time... I might not be able to stop him."

After placing his glasses on his face and running his hands through his hair to restore some order, Crane turned to find Kay sitting up against the wall with her blood matted head lying on top of dirty knees.

She was a pathetic sight. "Kay." She looked up quickly at the sound of her name. "Those gashes need to be stitched up. Come here." A sour look came over her face and she said,

"That's alright. I'd rather _bleed out_ the be helped by _you_."

Crane sighed in exasperation and rolled his eyes. Beckoning her with his hand, he said, "Don't make me repeat myself. Come here."

Kay hesitated, but got up unwillingly and walked over to the table where he was standing. He pulled out a stool and offered it to her. Turning around he walked over to a cabinet and pulled out various medical supplies.

"Now. Do you have any preference what I stitch up first?"

* * *

**Alright, how was this? PLEASE**** review, tell me what you think. I'd love to know. Much love --Archaiclover**


	9. Clean Clothes and Peanut Butter

Kay sat down on the stool Crane had offered to her. "Your jaw looks like the most serious, I should take care of that first." Crane said as he pushed up his glasses.

Glaring at him Kay said coldly, "I thought you wanted that to scar?"

Crane rolled his eyes as he prepared an antiseptic. "No, Kay, that was Scarecrow. I don't care one way or another; it's just bleeding the most. Now, lift your head." He tilted her head back so her jaw was prominently positioned.

Kay hissed as the antiseptic stung her wound. "Jesus, Crane! That hurts! Watch it!"

Crane stopped. "Do you want me to clean it before I stitch it up or not?" He said, irritated.

Defeated and bone tired, Kay sighed and mumbled, "Clean it first."

When he was done cleaning the gash, he turned to thread a needle. "Hold still. Don't flinch or it'll hurt more." Kay's knuckles turned white as they gripped the seat of the stool. As Crane concentrated on her jaw, she let her eyes wander around the room.

All the other times she had been down here she hadn't been concentrating on what the room actually looked like. The concrete walls were completely bare save for a few suspicious stains and two cabinets. In the back left corner stood the chair Kay had broken. In the middle of the room was the wooden table on which Crane performed all of his experiments and stored most of his equipment. Beakers and empty canisters lay strewn across one side, while burners and chemicals lay on the other.

Crane knotted the thread. "Alright, what next?"

Silently, Kay held up her right arm as she continued to look at his equipment. "What do you use the ecstasy for? I mean, I know it's a hallucinogen, but I thought it made everything more enjoyable? I've never used it so I wouldn't know…"

She trailed off as Crane stared at her. "You know the chemical formula for ecstasy?" He looked at the beaker labeled only with: C11 H15 N O2

Kay nodded. "Yup."

"Why the hell do you know that?" He asked curiously.

Kay sighed and then yawned. "My mom's a bitch. She beat me if I didn't get good grades, so I paid attention in science. It's interesting stuff, if you understand it."

Crane just looked at her and nodded slightly. Then he said sarcastically, "Useful in making bioweapons."

Kay chuckled, and then stopped, instantly realizing what she had done.

_Did I really just laugh with him? I better not be starting to like him. He's** still** a psychopath and that was one sick joke..._

Once Crane was done patching up Kay's arm, he looked down at her stomach. "Your shirt is disgusting." He commented.

"No duh. I've been wearing it for three days and now it's covered in blood." Kay looked down to where his gaze was trained.

She winced a little. "Oh. I forgot about that one." She said quietly. "Damn..." There was a large gash moving diagonal across her stomach.

After deliberating for a moment, Crane swept some things on the table into a pile and made a person-sized hole in the clutter.

"Lie down." He ordered. Kay's eyes never leaving the man, she climbed slowly onto the table and lay down. His fingers flitted across her shirt hem before lifting it up to expose her stomach.

"Whoa!" Kay exclaimed. "Violation much! What are you doing?!"

Crane put his hands down on the table and sighed, exasperated, "I have to stitch that up. It's too big to ignore." He explained, flatly.

"Can't you… like… stitch it up through the hole in my shirt or something?"

Crane laughed softly at her naivety. "Not unless you want me to accidentally sew your shirt into your stomach."

Kay rolled her eyes and stopped her protests. She wasn't to keen on that, actually... When he was done, she sat up stiffly and winced. She sat on the table with her hands on her lap while he cleaned up his supplies.

"Thanks." She mumbled, staring at her lap.

He looked at her, his eyes widened in surprise. It had been a while since anyone had thanked him. "…You're welcome." Looking over her scrawny, blood-covered, form, he experienced a brief moment of sympathy.

Scarecrow, of course, balked at the thought.

"Well… I suppose we should find you another shirt. If you keep that one on, your wounds will become infect. I don't want to have to continue cleaning them." He offered.

Kay pushed herself off the table, irritated, "Well if you had kept your _'little friend_' under wraps then you wouldn't have had to treat anything to begin with." She glowered at him.

He ignored her, wincing slightly at Scarecrow's sudden aggression and desire for control. After shutting the cabinet he said, "Come on. We need to find you something to change into." He didn't wait for her as he went up the stairs, flicking the lights off as he went.

"Dammit Crane! Why'd you do that?!" Kay yelled as she dashed up the stairs after him, ignoring the pain in her stomach. He led her upstairs, further down the hallway than she had ever been before. They entered a room almost as Spartan as her own, except the bed had a frame and sheets, there was a dresser, and the mirror was actually clean enough to be of some use. Crane crossed over to the dresser and yanked a drawer open. He dug around the bottom until he pulled out a light blue button-down shirt from the bottom.

"It might be too big, but it's clean." He tossed it to her, expecting her to take it and leave. She remained where she was, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair unconsciously.

"What is it?" She blushed and looked down before asking, "Do you have a shower I could use? I feel disgusting." He chuckled at her obvious embarrassment and gestured to the bathroom. "Feel free to use it. I value hygiene, and you are..." he grimaced, "Well, you should feel disgusting."

Kay just rolled her eyes and crossed towards the bathroom. She stopped in the doorway and turned around. "Um… do you have a towel I could borrow? And maybe a toothbrush and toothpaste? And deodorant?" Might as well go for it as long as he's being nice.

"We'll see. If I can find them, then yes. Or maybe I'll send Schuster out to get them. We still need more food anyways…." He trailed off, making a mental to do list for Schuster.

"Er… Doctor Crane?"

He took note of her use of his title. "Hmm?" He looked at her, his blue eyes not as cold as usual.

"The towel? I can go get it, if you'll tell me where it is."

Crane walked past her into the bathroom and pulled open the doors on the bottom of the sink. "Here." He said, tossing a white towel back at her. "Don't take too long. We've tapped into the neighbor's water tank and they'll notice if their bill goes up _too_ high."

* * *

After showering, Kay felt infinitely better. Shaking out her hair, she put her clothes back on and took a look at the shirt. Its blue color had faded and there was a hole in the bottom right, but overall it wasn't in bad condition. She found that if she tucked it in and rolled up the sleeves the effect was pretty cute. After running her fingers through her hair and inspecting her soon-to-be scars, she went downstairs to find food.

She was rummaging through the kitchen cabinets when Kealy rounded the corner. He stopped as soon as he saw her, making a small, 'mmpff' noise. Kay turned her head to look at him.

"Hey. It's Kealy, right?" She asked as she pulled a jar of peanut butter out. "Do you know where the spoons are?" Kealy gestured to a drawer. "Thanks." When the man still didn't respond, Kay leaned against the counter and eyed him.

He was a slender man, almost as scrawny as herself. He had light brown, spiky hair and an unkempt five o'clock shadow. His face was pale, and he had dark circles under his eyes. His pale gray eyes darted around. They would land on an object and then shoot immediately back to Kay.

This continued until Kay took the spoon of peanut butter out of her mouth and asked, "So what's your deal? How'd you end up with Crane?" Kealy folded his hands in front of him and looked at the floor. Kay noticed exactly how pale his face was, and how his hands were never quite still.

"S-sorry about bruising your face." His voice was soft, uncertain.

Kay raised an eyebrow, surprised by his sudden apology."Eh. I've had worse. It's no big deal. "

Kealy looked up, his eyes wide and the beginnings of a smile on his face. "Really? You too?"

Kay barked out a surprised laugh. "You get beat up often then?" She asked, digging another spoonful of peanut butter out of the jar.

Kealy nodded and scratched his head. "I'm kind of small so it's easy for bigger guys to beat me up. Um... may I have some peanut butter?"

Kay held out the jar to him. "Grab a spoon, amigo, and join in." Kealy grinned and got a spoon out of the drawer and leaned on the counter next to Kay.

Taking a spoonful, he said, "I really am sorry about hurting you. I didn't know you got hurt a lot of I would or I wouldn'ta hit you. I probably would've just dragged you back insteada hitting you. Getting hit's not fun."

Kay took note of his relatively simple speech, "So Kealy. What's your deal? Where are you from?"

The man tucked his lower lip into his mouth. "Well… Doctor Crane used to know me at Arkham. He was my doctor. He may not always be the nicest, but he got me outta there. I didn't like Arkham." He stuck his spoon into his mouth abruptly, as if to stop himself from talking.

Kay figured that Crane and his toxin were probably most of the reason Arkham had been so awful, but she also remembered the horrible white walls.

"Ah. So you are from Arkham. I thought it might be something like that. Why didn't you like it there?"

Kealy's face fell and his subdued voice became dark, "They didn't like me much. All the other inmates would yell things at me. And the guards would, ya know, shove me around and stuff. They liked to trick me into thinking it was all a hallucination. But it wasn't. They couldn't trick me." He whispered this confidentially.

"Doctor Crane gave me some of the stuff he gave you. It wasn't good." Kay winced at the thought of this mild mannered man being subjected to the toxin's awful influence.

Kealy continued, "Everything was dark, and it smelled like death. All these slimy hands were on me, But he broke me out, ya know, after Batman caught him and everything. He still remembered me." He smiled happily, looking out the door to the main hallway.

"Sounds like you're pretty loyal to him, huh?" Kay said after a second.

He nodded, and then paused, studying her.

She eyed him back uneasily. "What?"

He leaned forward a bit and asked quietly, "You're not a hallucination, are you? People that aren't hallucinations aren't usually nice to me." Kay laughed cheerfully and patted his arm. "I'm not a hallucination. Promise." He smiled back at her.

They sat for a moment, eating their peanut butter. Crane found them like this when he rounded the corner. With a cold glance his analyzed the scene and quickly came to a conclusion:"You two become friends all of a sudden? Kealy, go find Schuster and do something useful. Kay, you come with me." He turned on his heel and stalked away towards the basement.

"See you later, bud. " Kay patted Kealy's arm again and started after Crane.

"Bye! You're nice for talking to me!" Kay smiled over her shoulder. "Any time. You're not too bad yourself." Kealy grinned happily.

The light was already on when Kay entered the basement. "What's up? And if you want to test something on me, I'm not coming down there." She called down into the basement from midway down the stairs.

"You said you were good at science, right? I need help mixing chemicals. Come down here."

* * *

_Hurray for adorable Kealy! XD Please please please review! --Archaiclover_


	10. Reminiscence

"Okay, for real, Crane. Why do you need me?" Kay asked impatiently, still poised at the top of the stairs.

Noting that she had once again dropped his title, Crane rolled his eyes and gestured to the cluttered table. "You seem smart. I want to see if you're any use. I have to keep you around anyway, might as well put you to work. It's this or cleaning the house."

"Pssh." Kay scoffed. "Do you even _have_ any cleaning solution?"

This earned her an icy glare. Kay sighed and tramped down the stairs.

"So, what do you need help with?" she asked, taking in all the labeled beakers as she tried to piece together what he could be making. "Are these the components to your toxin?"

Crane raised one sardonic eyebrow. "My my. Aren't we _talkative_ today." He commented, dryly.

"Eh, piss off. Being clean feels nice, and you're bringing down my mood. Though, by the looks of you, you could use a hot shower, a good meal, and a long night's sleep."

Crane looked at her as if she had just announced her plans to take over the world using her magical unicorn-transformation ray, but he had dark circles underneath his eyes. His black hair was exceedingly rumpled, and his loose tie askew.

"Okay, seriously. Why the _hell_ are you so talkative?"

Kay shrugged, not quite sure of the answer. "I dunno. I guess I just feel better when I'm around chemicals." She chuckled nervously and resolved to shut up. "Alright, I'm ready to go. How do you make this?"

As Crane showed her the proper way to mix the chemicals and how long to heat them for and what not, Kay began to wonder about him.

_I wonder why he has Scarecrow? And how he got named that?_

As she struggled to find the correct way of asking Crane (correct being not pissing him off), Crane worked industriously on turning the chemical mix into a gas. He dropped four drops of the ecstasy into the mixture and stirred. Footsteps could be heard shuffling upstairs as Kealy went about his business.

"So, Crane. You're a psychiatrist, right?" Kay asked casually, not lifting her eyes to see his reaction. Out of her peripheral vision she saw him pause a moment before going back to work.

"Yes." He confirmed.

"So… do you know why you have Scarecrow?" She said this quietly, fearing his wrath and a nice shot of pure toxin. To her surprise he didn't even pause in his work this time. He merely snorted and said bitterly, "I have some idea, yes."

Kay looked at him now, her eyes wide with curiosity.

He looked back at her coolly. "What?"

She raised an eyebrow; she was sure he knew what she wanted. _Of course he does, he's a frickin' genius_.

He returned to his beakers. "I'm not going to tell you why. Get back to work."

Kay could tell from his tone of voice that there wasn't a chance in hell of him telling right now. _Well, it was probably his childhood…_ She knew a bit about psychiatry, but not much. She hadn't had a chance to take the class yet. The thought of childhood brought up her own traumatic memories.

Absentmindedly, she rubbed the circular burns on her left shoulder.

"Why are you rubbing your shoulder?"

Kay's head shot up. "Huh?"

Crane shook his head slightly at her idiocy.

_Stuck up bastard_. Kay growled in her mind, but only allowed a sour look on her face.

"I said, 'Why are you rubbing your shoulder?' Does it hurt? Is there a cut I didn't see earlier that needs treatment?"

Kay shook her head no and quickly removed her hand from her shoulder._ I think the purple stuff goes in next…_ She was thinking before cold fingers yanked her shirt down off her shoulder.

"Crane! What the _fuck_?!" Kay cried, alarmed.

"Cigarette burns. From your mother?" Crane peered at Kay curiously over his spectacles.

"Ya, from my mother. I told you she's a bitch." She pulled away from his curious fingers and straightened her shirt, angrily.

Crane still didn't move from his spot immediately next to her. "They look about the same age. What happened?"

Kay gave him her best glare, but he remained unfased.

"Nothing." She spat, turning back to her work.

Crane rolled his eyes at her obvious lie. "Clearly something happened. Are they from a long time-span or a short one?"

Kay eyes narrowed but she still refused to look at him. "Nothing happened, Crane. Drop it."

But still he persisted. "I think it has something to do with your psychiatric defense mechanisms. Did she do it often?"

"Crane, I said _drop it_!"

"So she did-"

"Crane, _drop it_!" Kay practically yelled.

He looked directly into her fuming eyes and said, "Was it torture? Or convenience?"

Kay whirled around, irate. "Alright, you bastard. You wanna know what happened? I'll tell ya what happened." Her voice was low, intense, and furious.

"One day when I was eight years old, my mother can't find her ash tray. She's a chain smoker, ya see. So she calls me over and has me sit in front of her, on the floor, while she watches her soap opera. I've got a pink tank top on. I have _no_ idea why she wants me there because it's _certainly_ not mother daughter bonding time. Then I feel this searing pain in my left shoulder. I look over and my mother is grinding her cigarette butt into it. Of course, I start crying and trying to get away, but that bitch grabs me by the hair and makes me stay right where I am."

Her voice became even quieter, more dangerous. "So she keeps me there, bein' her motherfuckin' human ashtray for _three__ hours_. That's _fourteen cigarettes _that she ground out on me. I know, I counted the scars. So _yeah_, Crane, it happened all in one day and it was merely convenience."

Crane's smug smile at getting Kay to talk had long since vanished faded into a serious frown. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and walked back to his work.

Calmer now, Kay asked quietly, "So what about you?"

Crane stayed silent, and Kay just gave up. Not that she thought him not saying a word about himself after she had said all that was fair or anything… "Never mind. I can see you can bug me until I tell what is possibly the worst experience of my life, but I'm not allowed to ask you anything. Bastard." She muttered to herself, not even counting on him to hear.

A few more moments went by and Kay's mind slowly drifted off to daydreaming about normal life and wondering about the newly forming scar on her jaw. His quiet, resigned voice shook her out of her thoughts.

"I grew up with my grandmother out in the country. She hated my mother simply because she had gotten pregnant. She never gave my mother the courtesy of calling her by her name. It was always 'that whore' or 'filthy slut.' I never knew my mother, but it hurt my young self to hear her disparaged. I suppose Grandmother is most of the reason I have Scarecrow. Though how he was named is easy enough to figure out."

He glanced down at his thin body as echoes of the schoolyard taunt of _"Scarecrow! Ya ugly Scarecrow!"_ floated from his plentiful store of repressed memories.

Kay drew her brows together, not understanding. She started slowly, "…No. Not really."

Unconsciously rubbing his slim arm, he stared at her incredulously. "Seriously? Look at me."

"I am."

And indeed she was. Her sepia eyes were studying Crane's body language, something she had become adept at reading through her years of trying to keep her mother and the kids at school from hurting her. Right now his slouched shoulders and his arm crossed protectively across his chest were reminding Kay of…

_Myself?_ she realized. She took on that exact stance when she was listening to her mother scream at her.

"It was my, ah… my schoolyard nickname. They liked to call me that when they beat me up and rubbed my face in the dirt. And every time they did that Granny would tell me I was worthless and I wouldn't get dinner. That just made me skinner, which enhanced the appearance of a scarecrow, which made the amount of beatings just go up." He spat bitterly, his eyes clouding over with memories he could no longer suppress.

Scarecrow was surprisingly quiet as they played in Jonathan's head.

_Dirt filled Jonathan's mouth as he struggled to push himself from the ground._

_"That bitch of a teacher can't help ya out here, can she Scarecrow?" The bully growled, grinding the heel of his palm into the back of Jonathan's head. He had caught the smaller boy on his way home from school._

_"It's just you and me out here ya skinny twerp. Look atcha. Ya don't have a shred a' muscle on yer skinny, weak body."_

_Fear coursed through Jonathan like blood. Bright tears spilled out of his eyes, dripping down his dirt stained nose before dropping the ground. A look of disgust in his piggish eyes, the bully stopped grinding Jonathan's face into the ground, but instead kicked him viciously once in the ribs._

_"Man up, Scarecrow. Only babies cry."_

_Jonathan waited on all fours until the bully had really left before shuddering and letting his frail, undernourished body fall to the ground. Eventually he mustered the willpower to pull himself up. Whimpering, he stumbled home. Praying Granny would be in the garden so he could shower with out being seen, he caught a glimpse of the green house out back. Absentmindedly he traced one of the whispered scars across his chest as a dark look of recalled memories passed over his features._

_"Jonathan? Is that you?" came the shrill voice from the living room._

_Jonathan hesitated before answering, "…Yes Grandmother."_

_"Come here, boy. You sound like you've gotten into trouble again." He voice was dangerously soft, triumphant._

_Jonathan hung his head as he slunk around the corner. Granny was seated in her rocking chair, knitting a scarf no-one would ever wear. She looked magnificently malevolent, sitting there in her antique rocking chair. As her sharp, grey eyes took in Jonathan's bleeding, dirt-covered, tear-stained face, his filthy clothes, and the clenched hand across his newly forming bruise, she grinned maliciously._

_Inwardly, Jonathan groaned._

_"Jonathan." She drew his name out to make it into a long, torturous sound, implying that he had committed some grave sin. "You did some thing bad again, didn't you?" Her sinister eyes commanded him to answer, but gave him no choice but to nod._

_He had tried saying no before._

_It was the hungriest he had ever been._

_She grinned wickedly, her spindly fingers never ceasing their movement around the needles. "Go put on the suit."_

_All remaining color drained from Jonathan's face in an instant. "No, Grandmother, please! Please don't make me do it!" he pleaded desperately._

_"Go, Jonathan. Put it on. The longer you take, the longer you'll stay there."_

_Knowing from experience that her words were true, he scrambled from the room, peeling his clothes off as he ran. By the time he reached his room he had a pile of dirty clothing sitting in his arms._

_He pulled out the black suit from his closet. He stared at it for a moment, sighing. Pulling the pants on, he remembered that it would be a smart thing to layer, so the damage would be less. If he could find his shirt…_

_"Jonathan! Get down here!" Granny screeched from the bottom of the stairs._

_Undershirt it would have to be then._

_The boy dashed back down the stairs, landing neatly in front of his grandmother._

_"Little cretin. What took you so long?" Her strong fingers gripped his scrawny bicep as she yanked him out into the backyard._

_"I'm sorry Granny! I'm sorry, please stop that hurts!" He practically screamed as she tossed him inside the greenhouse._

_"I'll see you in while, buddy boy." She dangled the key in front of him before snatching it away and striding back up to the house. It was getting dark out, and was already chilly. One by one, the shapes of crows slowly blotted out the sky._

_At first they only circled…_

"Crane?_ Hello_, Crane?" Kay was waving a hand in front of him, attempting to break him out of his frightening reverie.

"What is it?" He asked curtly.

Kay glared at him. "I had asked if you got beat up a lot. I certainly did. Do." She corrected herself with a pointed stare.

"Yes. I did. Now get to work." His words were spoken harshly. He had no idea what he had done or what faces he had made while he was recalling his childhood. Hopefully nothing… but with his luck he had made some sort of face or mumbled something.

As he worked in peace for the next half an hour, Crane become more relaxed and forgot to worry about what he had done. As he finished off the last batch, he realized that if he was done, Kay had been done for a quite a while.

He looked up to find her studying him again.

"What?" He asked gruffly.

She took an agonizing moment before responding.

"We're more alike than different, you know."

Before he could stop himself he asked, "How so?" and then immediately flinched.

Kay turned away and sat down on a stool. "Well… we're both very skinny." She began, calling out the obvious. "Our caretakers both abused us. We were both bullied in school. And for kickers, we're both very, very smart." She finished thoughtfully.

Crane shrugged. "I guess. But psychologically we're very different. You use sarcasm as your defense mechanism, and I… Well I rely on my alternate personality."

_Damn **right **you do._ Scarecrow growled in his head.

Crane really had no idea why he was saying all this. It wasn't like him to talk to anyone about any of his feelings or past. Maybe it was for the same reason the girl had said she was talkative earlier. He was simply more comfortable around chemicals.

Kay returned his shrug. "I guess. But we both have them. The only point I was trying to make is to get you to stop trying to hurt me. I'm not one of the people who would have hurt you at school. I'm the one that tries to blend in."

To his surprise, Crane fully understood. He nodded to show his comprehension of her words.

Blending in had been a very important part of his school life. Academics had been a breeze for him. After all, he'd graduated high school at sixteen, and college at nineteen. After getting his Doctorate at twenty-one, he went on to become the director of Arkham Asylum. And now, at twenty-two, he had terrorized a city, been thrown into his own Asylum, and escaped.

So high school math? Not a problem.

Trying to slip out of the locker room unnoticed? A challenge equivalent to climbing Mount Everest.

"Well, this has been fun, but I'm starving again. I'm going upstairs to make us a proper meal. You really need to eat something." Kay announced, climbing the stairs.

Crane gaped at her. "Why the hell would you make a meal for me?"

She looked back, confused. She frowned and shrugged. "I don't know. Because you're obviously hungry?"

Crane glared at her, knowing she comprehended his real meaning.

Kay sighed, and turned around to explain. "You may have done all this to me," She gestured to the various wounds covering her body. "And not to mention terrorized me with that god-awful gas, but I understand where you're coming from now. That doesn't kiss it all better, but I'm not heartless. You understood what I meant when I said I have to blend in at school. So I'm making us a meal. "

With no further questions from Crane, Kay returned to her ascent of the stairs. Loud footsteps could be heard from over head, scuffling.

Upon hearing them, Kay dashed the rest of the way up the stairs and flew to see what was going on. Crane followed soon after.

When the two found the source of the noise, Schuster had Kealy pinned to a wall with his arm secured behind his back. Kealy's eyes were wide and rolling around in his head with terror.

"Schuster! What the hell are you doing?!" Kay yelled before Crane could.

Schuster yanked back, bringing a squealing Kealy with him.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He grunted, throwing Kealy back into the wall.

The scrawny man just moaned and slid down the wall to the floor. There was blood dripping from his nose, and he was trembling.

Before Schuster could make another grab for Kealy, Kay stepped in his way. "Stop it, you bastard! He can't fight back. Didn't your mother ever teach you not to pick on the smaller ones?It's not nice, you know." The level of sarcasm in her voice signaled her degree of outrage.

Schuster snarled, his rage apparent in his stance. "Move outta the way, bitch. That little fucker needs to be taught a lesson."

Kay stayed firmly where she was, daring him to make her move with a twitch of her eyebrow. As he pulled a hand back to slap her, Crane stepped in front of him.

"Boss? W- what are you doing?" Schuster tried his best not to snarl at the man currently holding a can of the toxin Schuster was so afraid of.

"Hit her and get a face full." Crane snapped.

Puzzled at his boss's change in attitude towards Kay's well-being, Schuster slowly lowered his clenched fist. He glared at the group assembled before storming away to wherever his room was.

Kay's eyes followed him down the hallway, one she hadn't been down before.

"Asshole." She muttered, turning around to attend to Kealy.

The timid man had managed to pull himself up into a sitting position and wiped some of the blood off of his unshaven face. Ragged breaths still racked his thin chest, but deep breaths soon changed that. Kay slid down the wall to sit next to him.

"So what happened, Bud?" Kay asked, placing a sympathetic hand on his trembling shoulder.

Crane stood uncomfortably, not sure what he should do. After a second he gave up and left with a parting, "I'm going to take a shower. Do whatever you want, but don't leave the house."

Kay had a hard time hiding her surprise from him.

"All I did was ask him to move." Kealy whimpered.

"I bet you did. Schuster seems… Well he seems like a huge asshole." Kay shrugged.

Kealy just nodded and wiped the tears away from his eyes with the palm of his hand.

"You gonna be okay?" Kay asked, rubbing his back. He nodded again and laughed chokingly through his tears.

Grinning, Kay stood up. "Good. I'm going to go make us a meal. Want to help?"

* * *

_As always, please review!!! :D I've got big plans fer little Kay next chapter. **Big** plans. :) So review, and make my day! Every one who review gets a cookie and a dance party. Much love to all my readers! --Archaic._


	11. Nightmares

Attempting to shake his black hair dry, Crane rounded the corner to find the table as set as possible given his scantily clad house, and pancakes cooking on the stove.

Kay glanced at him before looking back to the pancakes and saying, "I hope you like pancakes and peanut butter. We don't have anything else. I'll grab some food while I'm out tomorrow."

She plunked a plate down in front of him before yelling, "Kealy, food!"

"Out tomorrow?" Crane asked as he looked down at the meal, which consisted of peanut butter and honey spread on top of a pancake and some not-so-fresh fruit.

"Yeah. I thought we had discussed this. I need to go out to get a toothbrush and what not. I don't think you should be walking around in broad daylight."

Confused by her sudden concern for his freedom, he retorted, "What? You don't think they'll be looking for you too?"

Kay snorted, "Hell no. My mother probably didn't even tell the police that I was kidnapped. At school they'll just figure I dropped out. Trust me, no one's gonna be looking for me."

As she clunked two more plates down on the table, a certain resigned sadness sunk into Kay's face. When she saw Crane looking at her, she shook the look off of her face as if she didn't want him to see it. Instead, she flopped into her chair and dug into her pancakes.

"Mmph. I love food. I never eat much, but I love food." Kay declared, shoveling pineapple into her mouth. "Where the hell is Kealy?" She muttered before yelling again, "Kealy! Food's ready!"

The twitchy man practically bounded around the corner, his grin splitting from ear to ear. He had shaved and changed his clothes to a relatively clean, unwrinkled button down and jeans.

"Damn! Looking mighty sharp there, Keals!" Kay praised.

He flushed at the new nickname and nervously pressed his jeans down with his hands to further smooth them out. The rest of the meal was spent with Kay and Kealy chatting away about various aspects of life they found amusing, with a few wry comments from Crane thrown in every so often. Schuster was nowhere to be seen.

"Bastard's probably sulking in his room. He has all the well-developed maturity of a five-year-old." Crane stated dryly, earning a chuckle from Kay.

* * *

A pained groan followed by a terrified whimper woke Kay from her light sleep. Drowsily she decided it was nothing and again closed her eyes. But they were reluctantly pulled open again when the pathetic whimpering continued.

Stumbling out into the hall while attempting to readjust the baggy shirt and shorts Crane had thrown at her to sleep in, Kay realized that the source of the noise was inside a room just down the hall.

_Crane's room._

She opened the door slowly, afraid of making to much noise. As relatively kind as Crane had been to her as of late, Kay was sure that the repercussions of going into his room needlessly while Crane was asleep would be high.

As she let her eyes readjust to the moon light in his room, she observed that he was drenched in sweat and his sheets were bunched up in a death grip in his fists.

"No… Granny, no... hurts…" he muttered, tossing his head from side to side.

_The crows flew overhead, growing in numbers by the second. Some, the braver ones, had already swooped down to take a quick peck before swooping back up._

_Whimpering, Jonathan scrambled up off the ground in search of a place to hide. But, as usual, there were only empty, backless shelves and broken flowerpots. The crows flew down now, more and more with each strike. Grandmother's delighted laughter provided a mad soundtrack to his terrifying ordeal. As they pecked and pulled at his skin, tearing and shredding, Jonathan thought desperately,_

_"I wish I really __**were**__ a scarecrow. Crows are scared of them. I wish I __**really were a scarecrow.**__"_

_"Not a chance, Jonny-boy!" Grandmother screamed ecstatically through the broken door of the green house._

_"Jonny-boy! Jonny-boy!" She screamed over and over again._

_"JONATHAN CRANE!"_

As he started to thrash around, his moaning becoming sleep-strangled shrieks of terror, Kay forgot about what he might do to her for this later and ran to his bed.

"Dr. Crane!" she cried, shaking his thin shoulders. His hair stuck to his forehead and he was trembling slightly.

"Crane, wake up. You're dreaming, so please wake up." she said into his ear.

"Mmnn…tha' hurts…" He moaned, breathing hard. Tossing his head again to the other side, his eyes snapped open and he jumped, sitting half way up in bed.

When his sleep-induced haze faded and allowed him to realize he was in his own bed, away from Grandmother, he relaxed and pulled himself fully upright. He shook slightly, clearly still being affected by the remnants of his dream as he wrapped his arms around his knees. He lay his head down and tried to slow his breathing.

Kay let him sit there for a bit, pretty sure that he didn't know she was there and worried to make a sound. Eventually, when he appeared to have calmed down, she cleared her throat quietly.

He jumped again and looked up, alarmed. His face fell when he realized what had happened.

"How long have you been here?" he asked in a low voice.

Shifting on the bed, Kay replied, "Not long. Only about a minute. I heard noises and I came to see what was happening…" she trailed off, not sure how to finish.

Crane sighed. "I see."

Kay waited to see if he was going to say anything else, still shifting nervously. "So… were you having a nightmare?"

Crane laughed sharply. "Something like that, yeah."

Kay practically wiggled as she tried to contain her curiosity. "What do you mean?"

_Aaaand I'm going to get myself killed because I __**like**__ asking nosy questions, __**dammit**__. You can't keep me from being me! Even at the cost of my sanity and possibly my life! _Kay mentally smacked herself with sarcasm for her stupidity.

Crane's electric eyes looked directly into hers before shifting away. "It was more of a memory than anything else." He muttered.

Kay sat for a moment more, fully expecting him to send her away any second. But, to her utmost surprise, he almost seemed like he _wanted_ her to ask the questions she was dying to know the answers to.

"What was the memory?" She asked hesitantly, but scooted a little closer on the bed.

Crane's face twisted in displeasure, but not at her question.

"Grandmother used to make me wear this special suit when she was angry with me. She'd put me in the suit and then lock me in the greenhouse in the back yard. Crows would gather around, and fly down at me. They'd claw and bite me until I was bleeding all over. I've still got scars."

His voice became shaky, the images of words he was reciting all too fresh in his mind. "It turns out…" He paused a second to take control of his emotions. "It turns out Granny dearest had been pressing rat blood onto the suit so the crows would want to attack it." He spat, his voice quavering.

Looking up from his knees, he noted with some astonishment that Kay looked positively heartbroken.

"What?" he asked curtly.

"It's not that I can't imagine someone being that cruel… it's that I know all too well that people can be _exactly_ that cruel." She curled her legs crisscross underneath herself and folded her hands on her lap. "So that's what your nightmare was about? How your grandmother used to torture you?"

He nodded, staring dead ahead.

"Are you trying not to cry?" Kay whispered so softly she barely heard herself.

But somehow, he heard… and nodded.

"It's okay." Kay said softly.

The moonlight reflected off of the one tear that fell from his eyes. He made no move to wipe it off; he just let it run down his face and land on his pajama pants.

She reached out one hand and let it rest lightly on his shoulder. It eventually became annoying to have her arm fully extended, so she scooted a little closer.

"Do you get the nightmare often?" She asked.

"Every night." He answered tiredly. His back shook with silently repressed sobs.

"Cr-" Kay began, but decided that Crane sounded too harsh for the moment. Since she was taking some major chances already…

"Jonathan?" she asked gently.

"What?" He choked out.

"You can cry if you want to. _I'm_ certainly not going to judge you for it."

And with that, the floodgates opened. Tears ran down his face in little shiny streaks in the moonlight as he tried to cleanse himself of the memory of the crows. Kay impulsively moved to sit directly beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

_What do you know; I __**do**__ have a motherly instinct! Who knew? _Kay thought. _This night simply could not get any stranger. First, Crane has a nightmare. Second, Crane actually talks to me. Third, Crane fucking starts crying! What the hell could possibly happen next?_

Her ever-so-rhetorical question was answered when Crane leaned his head against her shoulder, the top of his head just grazing her neck.

_…The fuck?!_ Kay thought, but didn't move it. She couldn't.

_Damn it. I can't just make the crying man __**get off me**__. But what the fuck do I __**do**__? I've never exactly been cared for… Damn you Mother. You're not even here and you continue to ruin my life._

"Shh…" Kay crooned, unsure of what else to do.

_I mean, how much is there to do when your twenty-two year old kidnapper is sobbing on your shoulder?_

"I... I'm sorry." Crane stuttered out through his slowly alleviating tears.

"It's fine, Jonathan. I'm not _completely_ heartless, you know."

He sniffed and sat up, wiping the tears stains off of his face. New red, besides the flush that comes from crying, crept into his face.

"Er… is it all right if we don't talk about this after tonight? I don't usually- I mean, I've never- _fuck_." He groaned.

"You've never had to explain the nightmare to someone before." Kay interpreted.

He nodded. "Exactly. And I certainly haven't cried in front of anyone since I was thirteen." He said in a tone that suggested a certain disgust in his self-perceived weakness. "This has been entirely inappropriate and I suggest you go back to bed." His usual chill had crept back into his voice as he ordered Kay out of the room.

"No." Kay snapped, bewildering herself almost as much as it confused Crane. "No, because this has _not_ been inappropriate. You had a nightmare and it upset you. That's only natural. Comforting someone is not inappropriate; it's kind. Just because you're not used to people being nice to you doesn't mean that it's improper."

During her heated speech, Kay had pulled herself off the bed and was standing with her arms crossed indignantly.

"Crying isn't weak, like you clearly think it is, and you don't need to be such an asshole all the time. And now I'm going to bed because I'm tired and I want to, not because you're ordering me to."

Kay left a perplexed Crane staring after her.

* * *

"Er… Thanks. For what you did last night."

Kay's head shot up off the table as she heard the voice from behind her.

"Shit, Crane, you _really_ shouldn't sneak up on people like that. _Especially_ not twitchy people like me. But you're welcome."

He glared at her as he crossed the kitchen and yanked the refrigerator open.

"So you're going out today?" He asked as he studied the sparse contents of the fridge.

Kay made a noise of agreement.

"You know I can't just let you walk out of here, right?" He glanced at her.

She was staring at the table, an expression of loneliness and pain branded on her face.

He hesitated before saying, "You look upset. What's wrong?"

Her usual mask slipped immediately into place as she looked up at him. "What? Oh, nothing. I'm fine. And I know I can't just walk out. I'll take Kealy with me."

Crane shook his head. "No, you're not fine. And take Schuster. You and Kealy are too close for me to be comfortable with that."

Kay pursed her lips. "Okay, fine. I'll take Mr. Asshole. And let's say, for argument's sake, that I'm not fine. How would you know?"

Crane sat down across from her with a cold pancake left over from the night before. "The expression on your face, Kay. Something's wrong."

Kay narrowed her eyes and studied him suspiciously. "This is because you feel like you need to repay me for last night, isn't it?" She asked finally.

Crane sighed and shook his head. "No, it's not. We certainly don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to. I was just trying not be an asshole for once."

Kay smirked. "So you _did_ listen last night. Good."

She sat back in her chair, a thoughtful expression replacing her usual cynical one. As she thought, the expression became sad, and then resigned. She studied at her intertwined hands as she said, "It's just something that I said last night before dinner. No one is looking for me. My mother doesn't care about me, and my school is shitty. I have no friends, or anyone who would notice I was gone."

Her voice shrank until it was nearly inaudible.

"It's like I never existed."

She looked up from her hands and directly into Crane's so very blue eyes, her deep brown ones bleeding loneliness. A small, sad smile crept onto her face, "Well, at least I know that you and Kealy would care if I were kidnapped, even if your reasons would be very different."

Crane was at a loss for words.

Kay continued to look into his eyes for a moment before standing up and saying, "I guess I'll go now. Do you know where Schuster is?"

Crane shook his head silently.

"Schuster! We're going shopping!" She called down the hallway. "Oh, and I'll need some money."

He handed her two twenties. "What, no five finger discount for you?"

Kay chuckled. "No, I'm a good girl, remember?" She shook her head, amused.

"I-" He stopped; unsure of what he was about to say.

"Hmm?" Kay looked at him, all traces of her earlier pain gone.

He sighed and shrugged. "Nothing. Make sure to bring back some decent food."

"Will do."

Schuster was clomping down the hallway, jacket in hand. "Let's go." He said gruffly and went out the door without waiting for Kay.

Kay rolled her eyes and followed him, waving a hand over her shoulder as a goodbye.

* * *

"Let's see… more peanut butter, eggs, milk, pancake mix, taco meat…" Kay muttered to herself as she browsed the food section at Target.

After she had picked up all the food they'd need, she handed the basket to an extremely antisocial Schuster.

"Lighten up, Schuster. People are actually avoiding us because of your face." She teased, earning herself a death glare.

"You go look at movies or something, I'm going to go buy some clothing." Kay said.

As he started to follow her, she turned and said, "I'm going to be buying underwear. Still want to come?"

He flushed and turned towards the movies.

When Kay was done, she dying to change into a clean shirt.

"Schuster. Let's go check out so I can change."

As soon as she had paid, she ran into the bathroom with her pack of white t-shirts.

_Ah. That feels __**so**__ much better._ She decided. Grinning at herself in the mirror, Kay turned and waltzed out of the bathroom, right into the welcoming arms of two leather jacket-wearing men.

"You're coming with us." The taller one growled.

"Oh, ya, that's not cliché at _all_." Kay said spitefully.

His grip around her forearm tightened considerably.

Kay looked around wildly for Schuster. He was leaning against the wall, observing the situation coolly. His expression was so different from her mother's had been in the same situation, but had the same meaning.

_Well, would you look at that? Little Kay is getting kidnapped. Isn't that the weirdest thing?_

_**((OMFG This chapter was so difficult to write. You don't even know how hard it was. Crazy chapter, neh? Poor lil Kay, gettin' kidnapped... again... so she's been re-re-rekidnapped? She's like a kidnap magnet. Poor thing. XD Please review the crazy chapter! Tell me what you liked, tell me what you didn't like, and tell me your favorite color. :D Also, I haven't been able to get ahold of my beta-r... VA WHERE ARE YOU?! XP So this chapter hasn't been beta'd yet. I'll tell you when it has been. ^_^ Love to all --Archaic))**_


	12. Make Me, Whore

**Warning: This chapter contains excessive violence, foul language, and graphic descriptions. If you don't want to read it, I'll put a quick synopsis at the bottom. **

**Many thanks to Vayluh Arwen, DCMarvelFan, and Horsewhisper3. You all keep me writing and make it all worth the while. ^_^ And many thanks to everyone who reviews.**

Kay's world was dark and filled with nothing but the bumpy rumbling of the van. The blindfold gave no sign of slipping, or letting even the slightest morsel of light in. The gag nearly choked her, and filled her mouth with the dry, cottony feel one gets after letting one's mouth hang open for a long time.

Her heart drummed a fast, horrible tune against her chest.

_Thumpa thumpa thumpa._

Adrenaline poured into her stomach, and her breathing hitched every time they hit a bump. The force of the van turning a corner knocked her over because she couldn't use her hands to stop herself from falling, what with them being tied up and all.

"_Shit_." She thought. "_I never thought I'd live to see the day when I'd much rather be back with Crane._"

She took slow, measured breaths to calm the thrashing of her heart.

With no warning, a boot connected with her ribs, knocking all of that well measured breath out.

"Oof! Wha' th' hew wav tha' for?" Kay muffled out angrily through the gag, striving to see underneath her blindfold.

"Stay still, bitch." came the angry reply.

Against her better judgment she growled back, "Make me, whore." This little sentiment earned her a stamp on her hip. She groaned, but lay still.

The van came to a screeching halt, tossing Kay's body forward so her head connected painfully with the metal leg of the chair in front of her.

"Dammit." she growled to herself, making sure her oh-so-kind captors couldn't hear her. The same strong hands as from the supermarket grabbed Kay's waist and dragged her out into the open, slinging her over his shoulder.

"_You've got to be fucking kidding me. I don't know whether to be angry or actually embarrassed that I'm being carried over some bastard's shoulder with my ass in the air._" Kay thought, incredulously. A large door opened somewhere close to her, and she was surrounded by cool, dank air as they moved forwards.

"_The hell am I?_" She paused and ran through her possible options. "_Cellar? No, no stairs…. Abandoned house? No, too cool… Oh. Goddamn. Fuck my fucking life."_ She recognized the smell from a service project she had done with her school.

"_Warehouse. There isn't a chance in hell of Crane finding me here."_

There was a brief moment of terror as she fell through the air, but then the sharp pain of concrete against her skull let her know that under no circumstances was she going to be treated nicely.

"_Then I may as well give them hell._" She thought, dryly.

Her blindfold was torn off and tossed to the ground beside her. The sudden exposure to light momentarily blinded her and sent daggers through her eyes to the back of her aching skull. Her jaw was wrenched opened as the smaller man pulled the gag out of her mouth. Kay ran her tongue around the inside of her mouth to try and get some moisture back.

The small guy was growling in her face as he yanked her up by her collar. "A'right, bitch, here's the deal. Maroni wants 'is money. _No one_ steals from Maroni and don't get caught, undastan'?" He had a strong New York accent.

"What money?" Kay demanded angrily.

He placed his boot on her shoulder and shoved her back down to the floor, leering over her. "Da drug money, bitch. Thought ya could sell da drugs and then take da money? Think again, fucker."

Kay just lay there, glaring at him with all her might before saying calmly, "I still have no idea what the fuck you're talking about. I didn't _have_ any drugs to sell, and it's not possible to sell something you don't have." She paused. "Well, I supposed it technically _is_… but it'd be hard to do with drugs…." She trailed off, glancing back up at her current abuser (who she had already mentally started referring to as Steve).

Steve looked seriously pissed.

Before he could do anything she asked, "Who told you it was me? Because I'm not exactly popular at school."

Steve took this as sarcasm, -_Which it **wasn't** for once._"- and slapped her.

"Don't sass me, bitch. It was ya lil' frien' Ty Strobridge, but I think ya know that."

Kay peered at him like he was deranged, cocking her head to the side. "No… no, I don't know that." She said slowly.

Steve appeared slightly put-off by this information and crossed his arms. Kay managed to pull herself upright, and this time he didn't push her down.

"We gave Ty da drugs ta sell at'cha school. He said he 'ad given'm ta you, and you 'ad never given'm the money." He spat down at her.

"_Ty? He told the fucking __**mob**__ that __**I**__ had stolen __**their**__ money so that __**he**__ could steal it? God fucking dammit! Wait… Ty was dealing drugs?"_ The confusion hit Kay's brain like a boulder. A big boulder that had been push off of a cliff.

Her eyes narrowed and her mouth dropped open. "And you believed him?" She cried, frustrated beyond belief. "You idiots! I've never touched drugs in my life, much less _sold_ them!"

Steve knelt down so his knee was pressing into Kay's stomach. He may have been a little man, but Kay was a little woman. The pain was excruciating and radiated throughout her body. He took a breath as if he was going to say something, but abruptly shut his mouth and stood up.

Kay coughed and rolled into as much of a ball as she could, pressing her forehead to her knees. Steve whirled around to face the other kidnapper, fuming. With one wave of Steve's hand the big guy came over, lifted Kay off of the ground, and proceeded to drag her, screaming, backwards across the room to where two chains that were hanging from the ceiling.

Despite her considerable struggles, the big man succeeded in untying Kay's wrists, and then padlocking the chains around her wrists, tight enough to dispel any hope of her being able to slip out. The height of the chains forced Kay's arms to be suspended in midair above her head.

"_I feel like one of those prisoners you see in movies set in the medieval ages, in the dungeons. The ones who are shackled to the wall._" Kay thought, too annoyed and angry to be terrified yet.. "_Great. This is fucking faaantastic._"

Steve strolled over to stand directly in front of Kay. "A'right, here's the deal." He growled menacingly, shoving his unshaven face close to Kay's.

The stink of his breath wafted over her face and invaded her nostrils like a swarm of garlic-scented fire ants. Kay coughed and turned her head to the side in an attempt to escape the stench.

Steve paused. His eyes clouded and his hairy brows drew together. One hand darted out and grasped Kay's face between two sweaty fingers, yanking her head back around. "There a problem, missy?" He asked, dangerously quiet.

Kay started to shake her head, but the fingers stopped her. "No." she gasped.

"Good." Steve responded with a nasty little tip of his head. His finger slid off her cheeks.

"_Goddamn, it feels like he left little grease streaks."_ Kay thought miserably, trying not to gag.

"Now, here's the deal." Steve began again. "Until you give us the money you're going to stay right here. Robbie here is great company." He gestured to the muscle man.

For the first time Kay absorbed what he looked like.

Robbie was a mountain of a man. He was one of those guys who look like they could rip the arm of their shirt just by flexing, and they can't touch their legs because their muscles get in the way. He had a smooth, shaven face, and the baldest head Kay had ever seen. It practically glinted in the wear house lighting. He stood impassively, his hands crossed in front of him. The only acknowledgment he gave that Steve had talked about him was a small nod of his head, almost imperceptible.

Kay looked up at him and made a face. "Yes, he looks _very_ friendly." She replied, drolly.

Steve started to chuckle but stopped when he realized what he was doing.

Kay sighed and pursed her lips. "As much as I'd love to spend some quality time with Robbie here, I'm afraid you've kidnapped the wrong person. See, I've never talked to Ty in my life. Wanted to, sure, but never actually done it. So there is no way that-"

Steve's hand moved so fast Kay barely saw it coming. Her head snapped to the side, her cheek burning with the imprint of his palm. Anger started to rise in her as she stared furiously at the floor, but years of training kicked in almost immediately. It never worked well to get angry with the bullies.

She took a deep breath, thinking, "_Oh, calm down. You've gone soft living with Crane. How much worse has Mother done to you? Suck it up, buttercup._"

"Don't tell me ya don't have the money, whore. Ya took it, and Mr. Maroni don't take kindly ta thieves."

Kay shut her eyes, trying valiantly to come up with some sort of escape plan, as half-assed as it might be. Nothing came to mind.

"Give me one good reason you think I took the money. It's completely illogical to think that I would have taken it. Do you think I wanted to end up here?" She finally announced.

This time the blow hit her jaw where Scarecrow's gash was still healing. A few scabs ripped off and started to bleed anew. One drop of crimson dripped from her chin, staining her new white shirt.

Kay winced, not at the stinging, but at the fact that she probably wouldn't be able to get the stain out.

"I know you took it because Ty told us so. He's a trustworthy kid." Steve spat viciously, almost defensively. His little piggy eyes had narrowed, and his hairy arms had crossed.

"What? _Trustworthy_? He's a fucking _drug dealer_!" Kay exclaimed indignantly.

Steve moved as if to strike her, and Kay tensed herself for the blow. But instead Steve gestured for Robbie to come forward. "Your turn." Steve to said to the huge man as he passed him, walking to a small table on the other side of the wear house.

Kay watched as he plunked himself down and pulled out his cell phone. Her attention was jerked back when a low voice rumbled its way out of Robbie.

"Will you give us the money?"

Kay eyed him up and down and replied, "So, Robbie, huh?"

He nodded silently, still expecting an answer to his question.

"You just seem like a barrel a' laughs. Your name fits you." Kay said, lifting an eyebrow.

Nothing from the mountain.

She sighed, and let her head hang low, her eyes drifting closed. "You're not going to go easy on me, are you?" She said weakly. It was barely even a question.

"Nope." Came the monosyllabic answer.

She sighed again, and shifted so she was standing more squarely on the concrete. "I didn't take the money." She said, knowing full well what was going to happen next.

Adrenaline shot into her bloodstream as his fist plowed into her stomach. The momentum sent her sprawling backwards, but the chains around her wrists prevented her from falling, tearing at her shoulders.

Kay bit her lip to keep from screaming, and blinked her eyes hard. "Goddammit, Robbie, you're going to give me internal bleeding." She groused, pulling herself back onto her feet.

"The money?" Robbie asked.

Kay shook her head. The momentum sent her sprawling backwards again. This time a small yelp came out of her.

"_Fucking hell, I'm going to be bruised._" Kay thought, and then paused. "_That is, if I make it out of here alive. Which, the way things are going, I might not._"

The gravity of her situation crashed down on Kay, causing her to gasp. She thought back to school and all the hours she had spent staring at and daydreaming about Ty. And now, it turns out, he had been the cause of this whole misadventure, all the pain she had suffered in the last week.

"_Hey, at least this means he knows my name._" She thought, bitterly, fighting back tears. The pain of this new realization tore through her body, overriding the physical pain she felt.

"Money?" Came the deep voice.

Again, Kay shook her head.

This time the fist slammed into her cheekbone. It started to swell immediately, the purple-black color rising to the surface.

"Money?"

Again, a shake of the head. With this hit, her lip puffed up and started bleeding. Unable to wipe it off, the blood dripped down her face and down her neck, staining the color of her shirt.

The physical and mental pain was immense. It absorbed all of her senses, swirling around her head until she thought she'd go mad. Tears dripped in steady streams down her cheeks, blurring her vision and blending in with her snot. Small sobs wracked her thin frame.

**_Crunch._**

"_Fuck, I think that was a rib._" Kay thought, dazed by the pain. The only lucid thing in her life was the pain; the sharp, clear torment that radiated from her newly cracked rib. That, and the fact that there wasn't a single person in the world who cared that this was happening to her.

"_Eh, who gives a fuck? There isn't a single person in this whole fucking crazy world that cares about me. Not a single fucking person. Well… except Kealy, I guess. But he's not much help._"

Blood started to meld with the snot and tears.

**_Pop._**

"_There goes my shoulder."_ Kay screamed in agonizing pain as her shoulder dislocated, her good eye opened just enough to see Steve look over and wince. He got up and left the room with out looking back, his shoulders hunched.

"_I bet Crane isn't going to bother looking for me_."

A fresh, new pain tore its way through Kay's heart with this thought. Another anguished scream shot from her as Robbie's fist broke another rib.

Despair flooded through Kay like a torrent of icy fire.

"_Not a single fucking person. Not even Crane._" Was Kay's last thought before the pain became too much and she blacked out.

* * *

Robbie observed the girl as she collapsed, her dislocated shoulder allowing her right side to hang down much lower than it should have. Her feet dragged on the ground, her knees no longer holding her up. Dark blood trickled down her face from various wounds he had inflicted. Her left eye was to swollen to see out of, if she had been conscience. Her lower lip was crusted in blood and dried snot and had the shininess granted to lip injuries.

"_Over all she's not bad looking._" He thought, watching as a strand of wavy brown hair swung to and fro in front of her face. "_It's a shame I had to rough her up like this. Women shouldn't be hurt, not even if they took Mr. Maroni's money._"

He paused for a moment, thinking over her various protests.

"_I don't think she **did** take the money. Poor thing._"

He tucked his hands into his pockets as he surveyed her broken body. "_I think I broke two ribs, dislocated her shoulder, and gave her quite a few scrapes and bruises, all for something she didn't do. The least I owe her to is to get her down from there._"

With this thought he drew a key out of his pocket and unlocked the padlocks holding her bruised wrists captive. She fell to the floor, her head slamming into the bloodstained concrete. Robbie winced. As he lifted her up, marveling over how weightless she felt, he was sorry to see that the whole right side of her face was now covered in her own blood, some of it fresh and some of it from the puddle on the floor.

"_I'm real sorry about this, Kay Chapman. I'd help if I could, really._"

He lay her down on the recently vacated table. Her arm lay out at an unnatural angle, due to her shoulder injury, and her shirt collar was a deep red. A pretty color, had it not been blood.

* * *

The crazed look that came into Crane's eye scared the living fuck out of Schuster.

"What?" Crane asked quietly.

"_What's that called again… er… oh, that calm before that storm, that's what it is._" Schuster thought. Out loud he said, "She got kidnapped. At Target."

Crane turned to fully face him. "Exac-_t_ly how did tha-_t _happen?" His constants were crisp, as they became when he was livid.

Schuster could see the anger swelling behind Crane's electric eyes, now a furious ice blue.

"Er… Well, ya see… We had already checked out 'n Kay wanted ta change her shirt, see. So she went into the lady's room to change. I was jus' waiting outside when these two guys walked towards the bathroom. But, see, the bathrooms are in this lil' hallway, so I jus' thought they were going to the bathroom, ya know?" He babbled nervously.

The look in Crane's eye told him to get to the point. He rubbed the sweat off of his face onto his shirtsleeve, and ran a hand through his greasy hair.

"But they stopped in front of the lady's room 'n then Kay came out and they grabbed her. I couldn't stop'm, so I jus' came back here to tell you. I'm jus' the messenger." He shrugged and looked away, unable to stand Crane's seething gaze.

"What did these men look like?" Crane probed.

"Kinda Italian. One was big and bald, real muscular type, and the other was a little guy, kinda hairy. Looked like Maroni's men."

Crane glanced up at the basement door, thinking. He began slowly. "So… what you're saying is Kay was kidnapped by Salvatore Maroni's men?"

Schuster nodded.

"And how do you know this?" Crane inquired.

Schuster's brain whirred, trying to come up with a suitable lie. Eventually it gave up and spat out the truth. "I talked to'm."

Crane stared at him incredulously. "You _wha-t_? What did they say?" He looked rather alarmed, his eyes wide.

Schuster shifted from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable with so much talking. "Well, I asked'm what they was gonna do, and they said, 'Is that Kay Chapman?' and I says 'Yeah, it is.' And then-" He stopped, realizing how he had trapped himself. He turned his gaze back to Crane, who was practically trembling with anger.

"Go on." Crane hissed, his mouth curving into a snarl.

Schuster finished his story in a rush. "Then I asked, 'Where you guys from?' And the little guy said, 'Maroni' and then they took Kay. Nothin' I could do, Boss." He claimed, frightened by Crane's expression.

Crane turned around to survey the table behind him. He deliberated, his slim fingers moving slightly in the air, before lifted one of his larger toxin canisters and slipping a surgeon's mask over his face. He turned around to face Schuster, who it had just dawned on that he was in serious trouble, his blue eyes lighting up. Despite Schuster being a much bigger man generally than Crane, they were about the same height.

When Schuster saw the canister, his eyes went wide with terror. "No! Oh Jesus, no! Please, Doc, please no, please no, please no, please!" He practically screamed, dropping to his knees.

Crane's eyes were cold as he pressed the trigger.

A steady stream of toxin sprayed directly into Schuster's face, surrounding him like a cloud. He hacked as it filled his lungs, his eyes clenching shut.

Savagely, Crane jammed the nozzle into Schuster's open mouth, ramming the toxin down his throat. The larger man gagged and made a horrible noise of failed inhalation, his eyes rolling open.

Finally the can was empty. Crane tossed it back onto the table to be refilled.

Schuster's eyes were rolling around in his head like wild things, overtaken by his most terrifying nightmares. He clawed at his face, his nails leaving long, bloody streaks. He struggled to inhale, his brain so enveloped in its fear that it could no longer function. He collapsed, writhing on the ground. Slowly his movements became less and less violent, becoming lethargic, like one who is just about to reach sleep.

After struggling weakly for a few moments more, he fell still.

Crane observed all this coolly while Scarecrow chuckled.

" _Heh. Scared to death, eh, Jonny-boy?_" He asked rhetorically.

"Shut up, 'Crow, I've got work to do." Crane responded snippily, whipping out his cell phone. He ran down his short contact list, pausing on one number.

_"You gonna save lil' Kay, Jonny?_" Scarecrow asked. "_You in love with her? That's kinda sick, you know. She's only sixteen, and you're twenty two._"

Sometimes Crane wished he could shut 'Crow up.

"No, you bastard, I'm not in love with her, or anything like it. You know that as well as I do." When he thought about it, he was pleased to find this was true.

"_That's because I __**am**__ you!_" 'Crow cackled.

"I need her back because I've already started experimenting on her, and she cooks good food." Crane explained, as much to himself as to Scarecrow. When he thought about this, he found it to be not entirely a lie, but not the whole truth. Unfortunately he didn't have time to stop and admit to himself that he enjoyed her company.

"And besides, I owe her one." was his excuse. He narrowed his eyes and shot a mental glare at Scarecrow. "So shut up and let me talk." He pressed the button and the highlighted name became a phone call.

"Yello?" came a nasally voice through the speakers.

"It's Crane. I need a favor." He explained the situation.

"Oh, okay, so you need me to help get your little, ah, _girlfriend_ back, is that it?"

Crane confirmed this, but denied that she was his girlfriend, already piqued from 'Crow's earlier teasing.

"Me thinks the lady doth protest too much!" Insane giggling could be heard from the other side of the phone.

Crane ran a hand over his face.

"Alright, alright, I'll get the girly back. Meet me at 1351 Loburn Street, at ah… at 7:30 tonight. Okay?"

Crane checked his watch. 5:30. "Okay. Thanks for this, Joker."

A mad cackle came from the speaker. "No problemo, Jonny."

Crane winced.

"I _do_ owe ya one. And besides, I don't _like_ Maroni. He's got almost as many rules as Batsy-poo."

* * *

**((WOAH THERE. Okay. *****breathe out * No, for those of you who are squeamish, don't like violence, or for some other reason did not read this chapter, here is a quick synopsis:**

** Kay gets brought to a warehouse. She makes fun of the smaller goon, who she names Steve for no good reason. She is told that Ty Strobridge (Remember him? First chapter? Kay's crush?) is the one who told them the awful horrible lie that started all of this: Kay stole the mob's money when she sold their drugs and kept the profits. LIES. Then they chain her up and she makes fun Robbie, the muscle man (clearly the brains behind the organization.) Then Robbie beats her up until she is in such physical anguish and mental anguish over the fact that she thinks not a soul in the world cares about her (which is wrong, Crane is callin' in the big guns to get her ass back) that passes out. Robbie feels bad about it and unshackles her. We then switch to Crane and Schuster. S-man is tellin' a seriously pissed off Crazy man that he got Kay's ass kidnapped. Crazy dude ain't happy. He figures out it was Maroni's men, and it's mostly Schuster's fault Kay got kidnapped. He then kills S with an overdose of fear toxin. NARSTY. Then Scarecrow is obnoxious, and Crane calls in a favor with the Joker to get Kay back. They agree to meet at some street I made up at 7:30. So that's where this chapter ended. **

**Next chapter won't be **_**quite**_** so violent, but it has the JOKER IN IT (Insert awesome smiley here) so it will have **_**some**_** violence. But also some sweet moments. ^_^ Hokay, sorry for the long, rambling synopsis. Its late, and I'm tired. ^_^ Please review! :D Much love to all my readers! –Archaic))**


	13. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

I'd like to start by saying I'm **_so_** sorry for not updating in so long. I had a really busy summer followed by a very busy start of the year.

But! Do not fear! I have a chapter ready to be typed up and edited! I'll try and get it up soon… I'm a bad person… *** shame *** So, I'll get that to you as soon as possible.

Thank you SO MUCH to all my readers for being so patient and AWESOME. The next chapter's a doozy so keep an eye out. ;) I mean... The Joker is in it. It _has_ to be awesome.

THANK YOU SO MUCH. I LOVE YOU ALL.

-Archaiclover

p.s. First person to send a review on the next chapter gets a special treat. ^_^ * *


	14. Children's Songs can be Annoying

Blinding white pain was searing Kay's shoulder as she came to. Groaning, she blearily opened her eyes to find herself sprawled across the table. A dull pounding drummed at her temples, and as she tried to move her mouth she discovered her face was crusted in what appeared to be her own blood.

"Fuck." She thought, not capable of much else.

Cautiously turning her head, she found her shoulder in a position that was not as natural as she would have hoped. She groaned again and turned her back to stare at the ceiling.

Every intake of breath killed her, ripping at her two broken ribs. Without having to look, Kay felt bruises forming all over her body.

"_This is worse than when Scare…crow…_"

A wave of despair thundered over her as she remembered that in all likely hood no one was coming for her.

An involuntary jump when the door behind her slammed open made her cry out in agony before she could clamp her mouth shut. She bit down on her swollen lip and winced.

"Welcome back to the real world, Toots." Came a not-so-welcome voice from the direction her head was laying on the table.

"Glad to be here." She rasped back, struggling with all her might to put her usual level of sarcasm into her voice.

In return Steve laughed snidely. "Still got enough left in you to be a smartass bitch, eh? Maybe Robbie didn't go atcha hard enough. Should he, ah, _try again_, perhaps? Huh?"

Kay winced again as his rancid breath blew over her face and proceeded to mount an attack set to burn the nose hairs right out of her nostrils.

"_Jesus H. Christ on a fucking cracker, what the hell does this guy eat? And has he __**ever**__ used a fuckin' tooth brush?_" Kay gasped in her mind, fighting not to breath in.

She lifted her unswollen eye, letting the other one stay blissfully closed, to see Steve's unshaven, grimy, face leering over her, the fuzz on his teeth growing quite contently and undisturbed. A small piece of something green had nested in between his top front teeth.

Kay was so in shock over his apparent boycott of oral hygiene she could only blink and continue her valiant attempt to save her nose hairs from total annihilation.

He was opening his mouth to spew more threatening nonsense when he jerked forwards and a bloody, gaping hole exploded into existence, his forehead almost as ruined as Kay's nose hairs.

Kay shrieked in alarm as his brain matter made acquaintance with her face and his fresh, warm blood flowed out onto her shirt, joining her own dried blood.

Steve slumped onto her, his face resting directly on her stomach. His mouth was open and it felt as if he was trying to suck in her stomach. Still screaming, Kay batted his at his blood-matted head and knocked him to the ground. A few bits of brain oozed out when his head hit the concrete of the warehouse floor.

Ignoring the blindingly painful protests of her ribs and shoulder, Kay wrenched her body into a sitting position. Her vision went black and stayed that way for a few moments, the blood rushing from her head. As it came back, the blotchy black stuff eating its way to the middle of her eyes until it was gone, she took in an array of strange colors and patterns,

"_Purple. Who wears purple? No one wears purple_. _Purple is not a color people wear,_"

tangled green hair,

"_God, my brain is so fuzzy this is someone important who is it I know who it is oh God, so fuzzy, I know him. Crane? No, no, so fuzzy, so fuzzy, who is it?_"

As the last of the black cleared from her eyes, she was confronted with the white, black, and red all over,

"_Haha, get the joke, folks?_"

maniacally grinning face of Gotham City's Clown Prince of Crime, the Grinning Devil, the Eternally Smiling Mastermind.

"_That's right folks, lil' ol' Kay Chapman has just bee saved by non over than Gotham's most feared criminal, the great Joker, himself. The story tonight at seven._" Kay thought crazily as terror gripped her insides like a cold fist.

As her eyes passed over his teeth, she noticed that they looked decently well taken care of. She nearly breathed a sigh of relief.

She swallowed to keep the insane giggling down where it belonged.

Lifting her eyes slowly, she looked into the swirling black depths of the Joker's eyes. He grinned back, the mask of hilarious ecstasy betraying no true emotion. Kay flinched as he lifted a finger to gesture to her face.

"You've, ah, got a lil' somethin' on your face there." He giggled a high pitch giggle, crossing his arms.

He smirked down at her as she lifted a hand to feel that the entire right side of her face was encrusted with blood.

"_Ah, worse than I imagined. Is it okay to bleed that much?_" She thought.

"_No, probably not._" Her conscience whispered back, "_That's why you're so weak right now. Remember science class, Darling? It wasn't so long ago._"

No. It wasn't, was it? A week ago her life had been normal (as normal as it could be when you were bullied at school and had an abusive mother.)She had gone to school, gotten picked on, excelled in class, gone home, may or may not have eaten dinner, done her homework, and gotten into bed to it again the next day. Now, she was sitting on a table in an empty warehouse with a dislocated shoulder, two broken ribs, blood and brain matter splattered all over her, and actually _wishing_ she was back with one of the most dangerous men in Gotham, talking to the goddamn, ever-lovin', mother fuckin', JOKER.

She clenched her eyes shut as this washed over her. But she was too beaten down, too tired to get angry.

Opening her eyes, she looked down at Steve.

In a more clear voice than before, she intoned, "Thanks for shooting him."She gestured to Steven's crumpled form with a nod of her head.

The Joker threw his back and cackled gleefully. "Th-thanks for shooting him? AHAHAHAHAAA! You're a riot, girlie! HA!" His ever-present grin grew wider. "I like you. Now I see why Jonny-cakes keeps you around. Though, ah, not exactly what I'd call girlfriend material."

He picked up a lock of Kay's sticky, blood covered hair with two pinched fingers, making a face as he did so.

Ignoring the surge of annoyance, Kay thought, "_Why, oh why, oh why does the ever so delightful criminal element of Gotham have such an affinity for me? Fuck my life._"

And then, it occurred to her, "Girlfriend material?" She snorted. "I'm not Crane's girlfriend."

He laughed jovially.

"_Rather Santa Claus like, really. A deranged, evil, homicidal Santa, sure. But still Santa._" Kay thought dryly.

"'Course not, 'Course not." He assured her, whacking her on the back with each phrase.

She bit her lip to hold in the agonized yell that threatened to leap from her throat.

"That's the same thing Jonny said. Not that I believe him, or you for that matter. I'm glad he's finally gettin' some."

He grinned devilishly and whacked Kay on the back again as she started to protest.

"Crane's not one to care about his experiments. You must be somethin', ah, pretty special, Honey cakes." He smacked his lips. "He's really worried about you, ya know." He said in a hushed tone that implied confidentiality, even though there was no one around.

Something in Kay's bruised face brightened. "Crane was… worried about me?" She asked slowly, not certain she had heard right.

He raised an eyebrow, shaking his shaggy green hair back from his face. A small smile never left his face.

Kay found her eyes tracking the intricate scars that hooked grotesquely from each side of his mouth. Almost as an after thought, Kay lifted her hand to the ropey almost-scar that extended down her jaw line, tracing it gently with one finger.

There were still plenty of scabs left, and the day's beating had only managed to re-open them. But parts of it were healed over, the white twisted flesh rising just above the normal surface of her skin.

The vaguely confused expression left his face in a blank and was replaced with a dangerous curiosity. "You've got scars too?" He exclaimed joyfully, gesturing wildly with his hands.

Kay nodded sullenly, worried about his sudden interest in her body and the potentially dangerous side affects his interest might have. "_He's the fucking Joker, for God's sake._" She thought bitterly. "_Whether Crane asked him to come get or not, he's still fucking crazy. I have a right to be worried about my wellbeing. Not that my wellbeing is kind of a joke right now or anything._"

One look at his eyes confirmed her thoughts. Giddy madness swirled in the dark pools. They absorbed all light into a deep hole that served as a factory for madness that cranked day in and day out. But behind it was a flash of cold, lucid intelligence.

"_Not only is he crazy, he knows it._" Kay thought with a sudden growing terror, one that grew around the dull, pulsing terror that was already there like a tumor.

"_Jesus Christ, he knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing and he loves it. No plan, pssh. He has a plan. His plan is to be as mad as he can manage, to destroy the world and dance on it's fiery grave. He wants to let the flames of the ashes of sanity lick up his legs and burn into his flesh, leaving a permanent reminder of all he destroyed. All that would be left of humanity, of sanity, of human decency, would be a hollow shell, so fragile it would be shattered with the slightest of breezes, if he had his way. It's not the jumbled, incoherent mess everyone thinks it is. He is the craziest person on this earth, and his one desire is to take it all in his hands and rip it to shreds. He organized chaos._"

Kay shuddered involuntarily as all this came to her in a flash of his eyes. She was in awe of the magnitude, the depth, the clarity of chaos that was the Joker's madness.

But instead of letting this moment of pure understand reflect on her face, Kay nodded again and said, "It was a gift from Scarecrow." She snorted. "He's a real gentleman, as I'm sure you know."

Joker chuckled into her ear as he examined the scar, his nose almost close enough to touch her face. He tilted her head with the prompting of one finger pushing up on her jaw.

"Woooowie, Honey cakes, that's a scar for the books." He cackled, his breath wafting into Kay's ear.

Straightening up, he brought his watch up to eye-level with an extravagant gesture. "Well, we should be going, Dear-heart. It's almost time to meet the good doctor at the, ah, appointed meeting place. Shall we?" He said in an official voice, his tongue darting across his lips nervously.

Kay nodded to herself and started to push herself up from the table. She stumbled a little as she stepped down onto her weak knees.

The Joker caught her elbow neatly and held her up, ignoring the little shriek she gave when he touched her.

"Careful, Darling, Jonny'll have my balls if I don't get you back in one piece. Not that, haha, he would be able to tell in your condition." He giggled lowly, manic glee dancing across his face.

Kay all of a sudden did not feel quite as safe with him, if she had ever felt safe to begin with. Slowly, she started forwards again.

After a few steps she could feel her knees getting used to the motion of walking. She breathed in relief and her heart finally slowed down, right before her breathing hitched and her heart raced as her feet was swept out from underneath her and she plummeted to the ground.

Pressing her lips together until they were white, Kay shakily and slowly pressed her self up onto all fours, babying her injured shoulder and clutching her ribs.

"Hmph." She heard from above her.

Raising her head a fraction at a time, she glared up at the painted face.

"Hmph." He repeated. "Not even a groan. How disappointing. Yer a toughie, Chapman."

Kay rolled her eyes and spat out, "Who the fuck do you think I live with? Fucking Care Bears? Scarecrow's one sadistic sunuvabitch." The venom in her voice caused a smile to twitch onto the Joker's face.

"It's always good to see another of Gotham's youth corrupted in the ways of violence and foul language." He leaned down to grasp her arm again, but she batted him away with a wave of her arm.

Tensing herself for a blow (_and dreading it oh God she was in so much pain already oh dear Jesus_) she was surprised to see him just shrug and straighten up.

Warily, she lifted herself to her feet, her eyes trained on him the whole time. He tongue did a nervous dance around the painted stained corners of his mouth, toying with the vicious scars, but he made no move to touch her.

Upon observing that Kay was once again standing, he took off across the warehouse floor, his long, purple-clad legs taking longer strides than Kay was capable of keeping up with.

He was waiting impatiently by the door as she limped up, tapping his foot and looking at his watch in an exaggerated motion. He rolled his head around, cracking his neck, and gave Kay a predator's smile.

"Guess what, Girlie-girl?" He exclaimed with mock joyfulness.

Kay raised an eyebrow in response.

"I think we've got company. Isn't that nice? We're so popular, aren't we, Honey?"

He ignored the _are-you-insane-oh-wait-yes-you-are_ look Kay gave him and smoothly flicked his wrist, causing a blade to slide out. His other hand drifted behind his back, where Kay saw for the first time he had tucked his gun into his garish pants. His fingers drummed lightly as he hummed a little tune, nothing Kay recognized.

"Yup, yup, yup. Mr. Maroni seems to like you, yes he does. Yup, yup, yup." He hummed, mostly to himself, smacking as he sang. "Three, two, one…" He whispered before yelling, "GO!" and sliding out the door.

Kay shuddered in surprise and leaned forwards to watch the fight out of the miniature window in the door.

The Joker's lean body moved fluidly, fluent in the ways of combat. His agility was not apparent until battle, when it, combined with his ruthlessness and apparent entire lack of fear, was a crushing surprise to the enemy.

The fight was over quickly, leaving the Joker standing alone, covered in blood and not a scratch on his body. He turned his head to see Kay peeking out of the window and gestured for her to come outside.

Kay obliged swiftly.

"Get in the car." He said gruffly, gesturing to a large white van.

Kay nodded and limped over, swinging herself into the front seat. The Joker hopped into the driver's side, the blood splattered on his face not seeming to bother him.

"Okay, let's go. Don't want Jonny to lose faith in my abilities, and, ah, get _worried_, now, do we?"

Kay shook her head silently. She shuddered but contained her nausea as the van rolled over a lump to large to be anything but a body.

The car ride to meet Crane was silent save for Joker's spurts of songs that he seemed to make up on the spot, and his fits of giggling.

At one point he leaned up against the window and waved at the lady in the car next to them, his fingers moving separately. He cackled at her obvious terror and sped off.

His driving absolutely _terrified _the already mentally abused Kay.

"_I really should be crazy by now. Ooooh my God, he's going to hit something._"

Her fingers clutched the edges of her seated and she blessed the person who created seat belts with all her might. At last they pulled down a street with warehouses on either side.

The moment the engine cut off Kay was stumbling out of the car and taking deep gulps of fresh air. Running a hand down her face she let out a long sigh.

When she looked up she caught a long, purple clad leg disappearing into the wear house. She stared for a second before rolling her eyes and limping after him.

There was only so much giggling, made up children's songs, and spurts of violence that Kay could handle in short periods of time. She had long ago decided that she actually _would _go crazy if the Joker sang one more insane song.

There had been one about her scar, one about how skinny she was, a few about decapitating people, and one involving an old man living in a shoe and some mice.

Every time he'd turn his back to her, Kay rolled her eyes at him from her seat on the floor. It gave her a nice, lulling sense of rebellion and risk.

After a while the adrenaline stopped pumping into her stomach and left it roaring for food. Ignoring this, she tried to stop her eyes from drifting downwards of their own accord. Periodically she'd jerk herself awake, leaving her in a dream world haze that made reality false and the imaginary real.

What really jerked her out of dream world finally was the frightening yell of,

"HEEERE'S JOHNNY!"

that erupted from the Joker as the wear house door slid open.

Raising her eyes slowly, relief trickled into her stomach; slowly building up until every atom of her body tingled with it.

Crane's sharp blue eyes stared at her from across the wear house, his slender hand just barely resting on the doorframe. Behind him stood Kealy, shifting and nervous as ever. His eyes lit up as they found her thin frame resting against the wall.

Crane's first step echoed in her ears.

They sped up the closer they got to Kay. Her sepia eyes followed him all the way until he was kneeling by her, hands floating across her shoulders in an attempt to touch her without causing pain.

"Hey, Asshole. Good to see you." Kay gave a half-smile, to tired to even contemplate a full one.

She did manage to widen her eyes when Crane smiled back.

"Hey." He said quietly. "You look like shit."

She shrugged and winced. "That's because I _feel_ like shit."

He chuckled, his hand finally coming to rest on her good shoulder. They both leapt when the Joker's booming voice came from in front of them.

"Hate to break up the, ah, lovefest," His tongue darted across his lower lip, "But I'm off."

Crane nodded, his eyes clouding over to his business look. "Okay. Thanks for your help, Joker."

The gaudy man grinned and winked. "Jonny-cakes, look at what getting' a girlfriend does for you! You're even polite now."

Before either of them could protest his claims, he turned to Kay, his purple coat blurring a bit in her vision as he moved, and pointed at her.

"See you around, Sweetie. It's been, ah… _fun_."

His maniacal laughter drifted in the air for a long moment after he was gone.

"Crane?" Kay asked after a second, glancing up at him. "Can we go home?"

His only response was a tiny nod and an offer of a hand to help her up. Kay bit her lip to hold in the groans of pain. Hobbling across to the door, Crane's arm rested lightly around her waist, providing the stability and strength Kay was severely lacking.

"_Any other time I'd be freaking out he was even touching me. He's got his fucking arm around my waist… and I really don't care. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that I'm glad it's there. I'd be falling over otherwise._"

Kealy and Crane flanked her all the way to car.

"You're hovering like protective parents." Kay teased, eliciting a small chuckle from both of them.

Kealy hopped into the front seat, humming. Kay slid into the back and decided to ignore the surprise she felt when Crane slid in next to her.

Her prayers to the seat belt gods were forgone this car ride, replaced by large yawns and slumping down in her seat as far as her cracked ribs would let her.

"God, I'm tired." Her eyes finally slipped all the way closed.

"Why didn't you go to sleep while you were waiting for us?"

She yawned again before answering. "Didn't trust that bastard not to do something. Now lemme sleep."

Crane was glad she couldn't see the foolish smile that slid across his face for a fleeting moment of no self-control.

"_Jonny, Jonny, Jonny. What __**ever**__ shall I do with you?_" Scarecrow intoned, his usual venom very much present.

"_I'm just glad she's back because Kealy was getting whiny and she cooked good food. Also, now we… er… I… can get back to my experiment._" Scarecrow cackled.

"_Sure, Jonny, sure. You know, I didn't say anything about you being glad she's back._"

Jonathan was surprised to find that it was possible to glare at a person living inside your own head. Scarecrow just cackled away.

A soft pressure settled onto the side of his arm. In her sleep, Kay had slid down and fallen over so her head was resting against his.

Her features, while bruised, cut, and covered in crusty blood, were peaceful. One lone strand of hair floated across her face.

Hesitantly, gently, Crane reached out to tuck it behind her ear.

"_What the fuck am I doing? What the hell have I done?_" He shook his head at his own weakness. "_It's my own fault. I should have killed her that first night. It's too late now. Maybe I could make Scarecrow do it…_"

The pain that just that thought inflicted got rid of _that_ option.

"_Fuck my life._"

But through the fog of self-hatred he lived in, a smile broke through.

"_She trusts me._"

* * *

**_A/N: OMFG YOU GUYS. I UPDATED. I'M SO PROUD OF MY SELF. But, I am simultaneously ashamed of myself for not updating for so long. SO. I would like to apologize again for not updating. I can barely express my thanks to my readers for sticking with me. _**

**_Also, please review! I hope you liked the chapter. I sure liked writing it! The Joker is my favorite character out of anything ever. First person to review gets a special treat! If you review first, you get to send me a line that I will have to include in the next chapter. It can be as ridiculous as you want. :)_**

**_Thanks so much for everything, dear readers!_**

**_Love,_**

**_ArchaicLover_**


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